IND vs ENG: Harry Brook Humiliates Gautam Gambhir Publicly for His POTS Choice

Harry Brook may have ended the India-England Test series with a brilliant hundred, but he doesn’t believe he was England’s best player. In fact, he feels Joe Root deserved that title.

After the fifth and final Test at The Oval, India head coach Gautam Gambhir named Brook as England’s Player of the Series. But Brook disagreed with the choice.

“I didn’t score as many runs as Rooty, so I probably think he should be Man of the Series or Man of the Summer,” Brook said. “He has been for many years.”

Brook scored 481 runs in five Tests at an average of 53.44. This included a superb 111 on the final day at The Oval, which nearly took England to a record chase. But once he got out, England collapsed, losing 7 wickets for just 66 runs and the match by six runs.

Joe Root, on the other hand, ended the series with 537 runs at an average of 67. He also scored a century in the final Test and was England’s top run-scorer.

Two Player of the Series awards are given in these England series. One is picked by each team’s coach. While Gambhir picked Brook for England, England head coach Brendon McCullum chose India captain Shubman Gill for his 452 runs.

Brook admitted that he thought England would win the match while he and Root were batting.

“My thought process was just to try and hit as many runs as quick as possible,” he said. “The game’s done if we need 40 runs with me and Rooty in there. If I get out there, the game’s still done. Obviously, it didn’t work.”

Speaking to BBC, Brook said, “At the time, I was very confident. If I’d got a quick 30 in the next couple of overs, then the game is done… I wish I was there at the end.”

Despite his disappointment, Brook was proud of how he played during the series.

“I’ve played all right,” he said. “I could have won that game yesterday, which is devastating, but I’m just happy to contribute to as many games as I can.”

Brook will now switch to white-ball cricket. He is set to captain Northern Superchargers in The Hundred and will lead England in upcoming limited-overs games against South Africa and Ireland.

“My first game is on Thursday, so it’s a fairly quick turnaround,” he said. “There’s a lot of cricket to be played… hopefully, everybody stays fit and we’ll be raring to go.”