With a highly unpredictable maiden Indian Premier League (IPL) season, SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) batsman Harry Brook has never lived up to his reputation and price tag. The English hitter was signed by the 2016 champions for 13.5 crores. But, with one exception of a magnificent century against the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) at Eden Gardens, he has flattered to deceive.
He began the tournament slowly, scoring just 29 runs in his first three games. A rise to the top of the batting order was thought to be a turning point for Harry Brook, who scored a century, but he appears to be back at square one.
Following another set of disappointing top-order scores, SRH returned to a left-hand-right-hand combination of Abhishek Sharma and Mayank Agarwal, sending Brook to the middle order. He has only scored seven runs in his past three innings, including two consecutive ducks.
SRH might miss the top four for the third time, so they need to make hard choices, like taking Brook out of the team.
Here are three reasons why SRH should remove Harry Brook from their starting XI following their IPL 2023 loss to KKR.
1) Brook has already been given a lengthy rope
Except for spells in Pakistan with the England national team and the Pakistan Super League (PSL), Harry Brook has little experience playing in subcontinent conditions. He had a hard time adapting to India, and the tough IPL competition didn’t make things easier.
The other sides have taken advantage of his weaknesses against spin bowling. Brook was bowled out by spinners in the first two games and was recently dismissed by KKR’s Anukul Roy. He has not been at ease when faced with spin bowling, which does not bode well for him as tweakers become more dominant as the group stage progresses.
He has already played nine innings to establish his worth, but he has been unable to help the SRH batting unit. So far in IPL 2023, he has only scored 163 runs with a strike rate of 121.64 and an average of 20.38.
2) SRH have replacements in their squad
The SRH team is mainly made up of three international batters. With Aiden Markram as captain and Heinrich Klaasen as their most consistent batter, Harry Brook is the only possible replacement.
Fortunately for the franchise, Glenn Phillips is an excellent choice for the middle order. The New Zealand international has only played one game this season, scoring eight runs, but his potential deserves a longer stint.
While he was far from his best during New Zealand’s pre-IPL tour to India, he might offer a lot more to the table than an out-of-form Brook.
Aside from Phillips, SRH has an abundance of local talent that may be tested, allowing the team to bring in other international talents like Adil Rashid and Fazalhaq Farooqi.
3) SRH can’t afford to carry players in their playing XI at this stage of the season
If SRH is to qualify for the top four in what is already an extremely close competition with a significant mid-table log jam, they must perform a miracle. There isn’t much separating the teams, although SRH is still a few steps behind.
Moving ahead, every game is a knockout, and they cannot afford to have form players in their starting XI in the hope that they may discover form as the tournament advances.
The Orange Army still has a difficult schedule ahead of them. They still have to play three of the current top four teams, as well as an in-form Mumbai Indians (MI) team away from home.
