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Explained: Why Both Gill And Brook Were Given Player Of The Series Award After Oval Test

Debashis Sarangi

Shubman Gill and Harry Brook [Source: AFP]Shubman Gill and Harry Brook [Source: AFP]

The Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy witnessed a fitting finish as India pipped England by six runs in a thrilling encounter on day 5 at Kennington Oval. Chasing 374, England dramatically collapsed from 301/4 to 367 all out, losing the game by a narrow margin. After India's emphatic victory in the riveting clash, Mohammed Siraj bagged the Player of the Match award, while Harry Brook and Shubman Gill were honoured with the 'Player Of The Series' title. 

Why Two Player Of The Series Awards Were Given In IND vs ENG Test series?

As we all know, the best Player from both teams combined receives the Player of the series award at the end of a particular bilateral cricketing tour. Therefore, cricket fans found it surprising when Harry Brook and Shubman Gill were separately adjudged as the best players of the inaugural Anderson-Tendulkar trophy. 

However, it's worth mentioning that it's a tradition in England to acknowledge the best players from both teams by bestowing the Player of the series award upon them. 

If we recall the previous tours, India's former captain Virat Kohli was adjudged as the best Player from the visiting side when they toured England in 2018. Sam Curran was England's man of the series for that tour for his all-round exploits. 

Interestingly, head coaches from both teams pick the Player of the series from their opponent team. Therefore, Gautam Gambhir nominated Brook as England's Player of the series, while Brendon McCullum regarded Indian captain Shubman Gill as the best performer from the tourists' side. 

Both Brook and Gill performed admirably throughout the tour, amassing 481 and 754 runs, respectively. Brook played a blinder in the final Test, while Gill narrowly missed out on breaking Sunil Gavaskar's illustrious record of the most runs in a single series.