Harry Brook replaces Jason Roy in England’s ODI World Cup 2023 squad

Jason Roy has been one of the most prolific openers in world cricket lately. Playing for England, the ace batter has played some memorable knocks to single-handedly win games for his side. He had a huge role to play in the upcoming ODI World Cup, which begins on October 5. However, in a rather disguised manner, Roy has been ruled out of the marquee tournament weeks before its commencement.

Notably, Harry Brook has been awarded a place in the 15-man squad following Roy’s snub. It is worth mentioning that Roy’s exclusion is due to a back injury. He had been suffering from back spasms over the last couple of weeks. He also missed four-match series against New Zealand despite being announced as a part of the squad initially.

Following Brook’s inclusion, Luke Wright, England’s chief national selector, came forward and reaped faith in the squad, saying that as a unit, England are pretty much confident that they can go to India and defend their title for the quadrennial tournament. He also said that England have a strong set of white-ball players who can win games when needed.

“We are blessed with an incredibly strong group of white-ball players which was underlined by the performances in the series win against a very good New Zealand team,” Wright said as quoted by ESPNcricinfo.

Wright also opined about Roy’s exclusion. He said that Roy being ruled out was a tough decision to make, but also added that the squad still holds a great degree of strength to be able to step up on crucial occasions, as they did in the series against the Black Caps to win the series 3-1.

“The strength of the group has meant that we have had to make some tough decisions on world-class players with Jason Roy missing out and Harry Brook coming into the squad,” he added.

Stokes’ inclusion meant Brook’s exclusion from preliminary squad

Veteran England all-rounder Ben Stokes made a dramatic return to ODI cricket. He showed his intentions to be a part of the squad that will travel to India for the coveted event. However, Stokes’s inclusion meant that Harry Brook, had to miss out on the World Cup squad. Now, with Roy being ruled out, Brook will look to avail most of the opportunities he gets in WC.