CHENNAI: England's explosive batter Harry Brook had not even opened his account when he top-edged Jasprit Bumrah to Mohammed Siraj on Day Two in Leeds, Headingley on Saturday. Unfortunately for Bumrah and India, the pacer had overstepped and the batter got a new lease of life.
However, that was not the only reprieve for the World No. 2 Test batter as he was dropped twice — one each when he was on 46 and 82 respectively. He made the visitors pay with his 112-ball 99 to take the team closer to India's first innings total of 471. A typical Brook's innings at a strike rate of 88.39 meant the hosts replied strongly, posting 465 in their first essay. For the unversed, the 26-year-old Yorkshire lad has the highest strike rate in Test cricket among specialist batters at the moment.
Highly regarded for his destructive batting abilities irrespective of the format, the recently-appointed England white-ball captain has a kind of unusual relationship with India. Earlier this year, he was banned for two years from the Indian Premier League after pulling out of the competition for the second year running. Delhi Capitals was the franchise that signed him on both occasions with his latest paycheck during the 2025 mega auction being Rs 6.2 crore.
In 2024, he pulled out of the England tour of India comprising five Test matches and the IPL taking compassionate leave so that he could spend time with his ailing paternal grandmother, who subsequently passed away. The reason for his no-show in the 2025 IPL was his intention to get ready for national duty. More than sympathy, Brook's absence from the two editions of the cash-rich league fetched scathing comments from cricket pundits, including the likes of Akash Chopra.
Even before that, Brook garnered unwanted attention when he attributed his struggles in the T20I series in India early this year to smog. He scored 17 off 14 balls in the first T20I in Kolkata before being cleaned up by leg spinner Varun Chakravarthy. "I didn't face (Ravi) Bishnoi but Chakravarthy is an exceptionally good bowler," he said after the match. "He's tough to pick. I think actually with the smog the other night, it was a lot harder to pick as well," he went on to say.
The comments drew sharp reactions with former India ace off-spinner R Ashwin particularly harsh on the young English batter. Ashwin even questioned Brook's ball-reading abilities and opined the batter's career seems to be sinking. What did not help Brook's cause was his comments on Indian food and life of the people in the country. His middling performance in his only IPL stint in 2023 added to his woes. He was bought for Rs 13.25 crore by Sunrisers Hyderabad then but the batter could manage only 190 runs from 11 matches at an average of 21.11. The highlight of the season for Brook was his century against Kolkata Knight Riders.
Interestingly, the seemingly 'uneasy' relationship Brook has with the cricket's economic powerhouse began much earlier when he toured India in 2017 for five youth one-dayers and two-match youth Test series. As per reports, Brook broke his hand punching a table after he got out in one of those matches. Brook's apparent frosty relationship with India seems rare especially in IPL times when even the most competitive cricketers from Down Under try to establish a good rapport with their Indian counterparts.
At a time when cricketers are ready to skip national duties for the sake of lucrative contracts in the T20 leagues across the globe, Brook had let go of such a chance, not once but twice, and face a possible sanction so that he can perform to his best of abilities for his country. His pacy innings on Sunday could just the beginning as Brook might possibly ruffle quite some feathers that could add new chapters to his so far volatile relationship with India in next 40-45 days.
