NEW DELHI: England batter Harry Brook has withdrawn from this year’s Indian Premier League (IPL) following the death of his grandmother, the 25-year-old said.

Brook pulled out of England’s recent 4-1 series defeat in India after his grandmother, whom he described as his “rock”, fell ill.

“Now that she has passed my family and I are grieving and I need to be around them,” the Delhi Capitals player said in a social media post on Wednesday.

“Over the last few years I have learned to prioritise my mental wellbeing and that of my family’s, honestly nothing is more important to me than my family.

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“So whilst this may come as surprising to some, I know it’s the right decision for me,” he wrote.

“I’m young and hope to have many, many more years of cricket to come which I intend to make the absolute most of.”

Delhi bought Brook for $482,776 for this year’s IPL, which begins in Chennai on March 22.