‘He is a star…I am gutted I can’t work with him,’ DC mentor Pietersen on Harry Brook pulling out of IPL 2025

England’s newest white-ball captain, Harry Brook, pulled out of IPL 2025 for Delhi Capitals (DC) to prioritise national commitments. As he breached the latest league law that expels the concerned player from registering in the auction for a specific period as punishment, Brook faced a two-year ban from the IPL. DC mentor Kevin Pietersen, who admitted looking forward to working with Brook, was ‘bitterly disappointed’ with his decision this season.

It’s not the first time that Brook pulled out of an IPL season despite getting picked in the auction. Following his debut season two years ago for SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH), Brook pulled out of IPL 2024 for personal reasons before doing the same this time, but for a different reason. Brook’s actions had repercussions, as IPL banned him from featuring in the auction list until the 2028 season. 

Speaking highly of the England batter in a recent chat with ESPNcricinfo, Pietersen revealed what he said to Brook. 

"I was like, 'Dude, I'm gutted that I can't work with you for a few months.' I think that he is a star…You don't hit one ball over extra cover and the next, same ball, over midwicket if you can't play,” Pietersen said of Brook’s talent.

He also picked on Brook's weakness, especially in the subcontinent, saying that he wanted to work with him this season, but respects Brook’s decision to pull out this season.

"So, he can properly play, but he has technical flaws in the subcontinent - in India, in particular. I really wanted to work with him, but people make their own choices in life, and you've got to respect them. He has a flaw playing spin in India - a real big flaw. Two months here, imagine what might have happened if he had fixed that?” KP continued. 

“I would've worked the same with him as I did with [Joe] Root and [Jonny] Bairstow at the start of their careers. Root turned out to be the greatest player of spin England's ever had. I'm not saying it's because of what we did when he was a youngster, but we spent hours together batting in the nets, going through drills and practising. I love that stuff,” Pietersen added.

Meanwhile, Brook's decision to skip this season led to Delhi making last-minute changes to its strategies, making KL Rahul bat at number four. 

Reflecting on his statement a couple of years ago, wherein he called KL batting in the middle order ‘the most boring thing’, Kevin said, "He never lets me forget. Every day, we have a dart at each other. I'm the villain. He's hammering me!"

As things stand, DC sits in fifth place on the points table, with 12 points from ten contested matches thus far.