India vs England: With Harry Brook to miss Test series, who can replace him in playing XI?

England suffered a major blow ahead of their five-match Test series against India, with Harry Brook ruled out due to personal reasons . Dan Lawrence has been named as Brook’s replacement, but looking at the larger picture, the visitors have their task cut out with regards to who could replace Brook in the playing XI. Brook, who has played 12 Tests for England since making his debut in September 2022, has amassed 1181 runs at an average of 62.15. Brook has been pivotal to England’s XI in the last couple of years, and would have been the X-factor player going into the Test series. Who can replace Harry Brook in the playing XI? Despite being named as Brook’s replacement, Dan Lawrence may not be a certainty for the playing XI. Had Brook been a part of the team, it would have led to a toss up between Ollie Pope, Ben Foakes and Jonny Bairstow. However, Brook’s absence means all three are contenders. Should Ben Foakes play in an England XI that also has Jonny Bairstow, then it could be the former who could keep the wickets. As for Brook’s replacement in the playing XI, it could very well be Ollie Pope, who has a good Test record. Pope has scored 2136 runs in 38 matches at an average of 34.45, having scored four centuries and 11 fifties. While Pope did miss the last three Ashes Tests in 2023 due to a shoulder dislocation, he has shown immense potential at the number three position, having scored 1086 runs from 15 matches at an average of 45.25. Lawrence, meanwhile, has not been a settled batter in the England setup yet, having had to juggle between the number three, four, five and six batting positions in his 11-match Test career. Should Pope go play at No. 3, Joe Root could bat at number four in that case, with Jonny Bairstow coming into bat at number five or six. And if Ben Foakes also features in the playing XI, then he could slot into that number seven spot. Lawrence could only make the playing XI for England should there be another injury setback. Having said that, Lawrence’s last Test tour to India didn’t go well: He managed just 149 runs from three matches at an average of 24.83. So, all signs point to only one man replacing Brook in the playing XI and that is the experienced Ollie Pope. What will be interesting to see is how Pope faces India in subcontinent conditions, given that he aggregates just 153 runs from four matches at an average of 19.12 against India in India.