England's white-ball team captain Jos Buttler hinted at Harry Brook's inclusion in England's squad for the ICC World Cup 2023 on Friday, August 25. Brook recorded a brilliant century in the ongoing The Hundred 2023 tournament as his response to his snub for England's provisional squad for the World Cup.
Brook was a surprise absentee from England's provisional squad as Ben Stokes and Joe Root returned to the ODI setup to claim middle-order spots. Brook's sharp rise in international cricket, especially in Tests, seemed enough for him to make the team for the World Cup. But the return of veteran Root and Stokes cost him a place.
The 24-year-old batter displayed his worth by smashing a 41-ball century in the ongoing The Hundred 2023 game for Northern Superchargers on August 22. He is the leading run-getter in the tournament after Jos Buttler and the latter has taken note of his impressive performances in the tournament.
When asked about Brook's potential inclusion in the World Cup team, Buttler revealed that there is still a long time (till September 28) to consider other players for the World Cup team and praised the youngster for his century knock in the Hundred 2023.
"There's still a long time before everyone is meant to get on the plane, so we'll wait and see what happens," Buttler said. "We all know Harry's a fantastic player and we saw what he can do the other night. It's not like it's a surprise. we know what a brilliant player he is, he's just the unfortunate one at the moment to not be in that squad at the moment.
"Of course, Ben Stokes coming back and being available just as a batter sort of changes the dynamic a little bit. Ben's a fantastic player to be able to welcome back, so it's a really tough selection."
England's provisional squad for the ICC World Cup 2023: Jos Buttler (c & wk), Moeen Ali, Gus Atkinson, Jonny Bairstow (wk), Sam Curran, Liam Livingstone, Dawid Malan, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Jason Roy, Ben Stokes, Reece Topley, David Willey, Mark Wood, Chris Woakes
