Indian head coach Gautam Gambhir opted for Harry Brook as the player of the series instead of English skipper Ben Stokes or highest run-getter Joe Root, a decision that has left even Brook baffled as he makes an honest confession in a post-match interview.
The India vs England, Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy met a well-deserved conclusion with a 2-2 draw, as Shubman Gill and Ben Stokes shared the trophy.
Though for some it seemed that the Oval win was deserved by the English batters, it went to the credit of Mohammed Siraj and Prasidh Krishna to turn it a complete 360 degrees.
Your daily dose of cricket!
While a similar incident occurred with India at the Lord’s. Several commendable performances led India and England to the amount of domination that either team has shown in the series. To acknowledge the performances, the Player of the Match and Player of the series awards are presented.
Harry Brook trolls Gautam Gambhir for his choice of POTS in the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy
After the conclusion of the series, Indian head coach Gautam Gambhir was given the crucial role to pick the Player of the Series from the English side. However, the choice of the former Indian batter shocked all.
He did not pick the likes of England’s skipper Ben Stokes, who has been a constant threat to the Indian team, or Joe Root, the run machine for England in the series, the key batter responsible for India’s loss at Lord’s.
The Indian coach instead opted to pick Harry Brook as the Player of the Series (POTS) from the English camp. Brook himself was simply perplexed by the decision, as he confessed that he didn’t feel he was eligible for the award, with Root scoring so many more runs for England.
Brook said, “I didn’t score as many runs as Rooty. I probably think he should be the Man of the series; he is the man of the summer, again, like he has been for many years.”
Harry Brook cooked Gautam Gambhir for his choice of the Player of series award
pic.twitter.com/8G7Qg3nvcw— AntiBazballian (Joe Root Paglu) (@rs_3702) August 5, 2025
Harry Brook had a roller-coaster series against India
England middle-order batter Harry Brook has emerged as one of the most promising batters in red-ball cricket. He is known for his intentful batting and fearless striking of the ball, which has often given him widespread success.
Going into the India vs England series, much was anticipated from the star English batter; however, he has had a mediocre series with just 2 hundreds. Brook went on to play all games for England and in 9 innings has amassed 481 runs, the fifth most in the series and the second highest for England.
Brook scored 2 big hundreds, one at Edgbaston and one in the final innings of the series at the Oval.
He also scored two fifties, one against at The Oval and one earlier at Headingley. However, Brook could not hold on to finish the game on crucial occasions, but was impressed with his strike rate.
Harry Brook’s visible frustration at missing out on a win at The Oval
Ever since losing the Oval Test, if there has been one English player who has voiced his disappointment the most, it has been Harry Brook, the centurion who held himself responsible for not having been able to finish the innings for England.
Brook scored 111 runs while chasing the target of 374 in the final Test. He took the game away from the clutches of the Indians, as they looked in full control until Brook was dropped on 21 by Mohammed Siraj.
However, Siraj rectified his blunder and delivered a 5-wicket haul to collapse the English batting lineup and lead India to a narrow win by just 6 runs.
Brook exclaimed that they did not get the results as they thought they would, by which he implied winning the Oval Test as well as the series.
ALSO READ: Virat Kohli given Joe Root’s example, Test call up made again after England tour
