England batter Harry Brook has drawn immense criticism from former India head coach Ravi Shastri and ex-Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara. Brook, who launched a counter-attack on India following three dismissals on the morning of Day 4 at Lord's , went for a needless audacious sweep just before the end of the session and was beaten for pace by Akash Deep, resulting in him getting cleaned up, giving an ugly conclusion to a wonderful start he got in the 2nd innings at Lord’s. He departed after a quick-fire 23 off 19.
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Ravi Shastri slams Harry Brook for squandering wonderful start
Defining the shot he played as a ’nothing shot’, Shastri went hard on Brook. According to the former India coach, there was no need for the English batter to take that risk as he had fetched two boundaries in the over. Shastri insisted that Brook should put a price on his wicket and understand its importance.
“Brook can be destructive - the impact he wanted to make with those two reverse sweeps, he did that. But I think he is too good a player to put his wicket at risk at that stage of the game. It was a nothing shot. He was only going to get one run even if he connected. The risk element was huge,” said Shastri on Sky Sports’ broadcast during lunch break.
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Sangakkara throws massive flak on Harry Brook
Former Sri Lanka captain, Kumar Sangakkara shared similar sentiments, calling it a moment of “arrogance” rather than confidence or tactical aggression.
“Brook has scooped, and they’ve given him a gap, so flick it. I think it’s a bit of arrogance, not even overconfidence, it’s not even Bazball, it’s just arrogance. You’re counter-attacking and that is a big, big mistake,” he said.
While it was somewhat irresponsible from Harry Brook, India won’t mind. Brook was beginning to look threatening but his wicket gave India the respite. In the hindsight, his dismissal could go down as the turning point in the game, should India go on to win the match.