Booked By Failure: The Harry Brook Conundrum!
Harry Brook has failed to live up to the price tag [AP Photos]
Harry Brook failing in yet another encounter in the ongoing Indian Premier League with an instant barrage of trolls and funny remarks popping up on social media isn’t the number one piece of content to consume about the tall batter.
It’s not something you want to think much about; trolls are the inevitable reality in an age of social media overdrive.
The very fact that he, as even alleged by the legend Brett Lee, is not in the right mindset as of now seems to be the case.
Others, such as Robin Uthappa have batted for the cause of getting Glenn Phillips in the line up instead of Brook.
And it really is a rather strange case.
For clearly, how else would one describe the current state of affairs of the Sunrisers Hyderabad batter, who actually has Test hundreds to his name and that too, away from the balmy comfort of playing on English pitches?
Just imagine what might have been the plight of the lanky lad had he not scored that hundred in the earlier stages of the tournament?
That he did so and with much gusto finally enabled him to put 163 runs to his name.
And that’s that; 163 runs. Others, and the list is endless, have gone on to so much significant and bigger things so far in the IPL games.
What's happening to Harry Brook?
It’s disconcerting to think about it particularly if you are a Hyderabad fan but it’s quite evident that Brook isn’t the only young fella out there in the tournament of epic proportions.
Other avid names who have little experience in their respective IPL journey, whether one speaks of Tim David or Cameron Green, Tilak Varma or Ayush Badoni are all youngsters who have only recently begun.
But where it stands at the moment, then it could be argued- and of course we cricket writers are no experts- that each of these talents have greater self confidence than Harry Brook.
Of course, when you are out of form, you are dry on confidence. Which is what is happening with Brook, a hefty purchase on the part of SRH, who spent a massive 13.25 crore (INR) on the acquisition.
But then, going by what’s evident, the likes of Badoni haven’t gone all bang bang with the bat.
Perhaps the trick - or so it seems- lies in staying put for a few overs and putting one’s life on the line for a matter to survival in the initial phase of a contest.
Let’s take Aayush Badoni in the CSK game the other evening. Before he went big with the bat, Badoni was merely repairing what clearly appeared to be an inning that was going nowhere. He had Pooran for company, which helped.
On the other hand, Brook, who attempted a sweep on a much straighter delivery spinning not away but towards the stumps, undid himself by poor shot selection.
That’s when, a well set Tripathi was holding another end.
Who knows maybe if the duo would’ve batted for another 3 or 4 overs, not only would Harry Brook have held onto some useful runs but the effort would’ve pulled SRH out of their self created blues?
But again, all of that could be conjecture or imagination.
Huge price tag taking a toll?
Maybe the bad form is appearing much worse thanks to the huge pressure of expectations, this being the world’s most popular T20 franchise competition with millions of eyeballs ever prepared to scrutinise every tiny act of yours.
Yet, all of that said, what seems to make most sense is that, at the end of it all, it all boils down to how one handles pressure.
You either take the bull by its horns or prepare to exercise caution and practice some restraint.
We’ve seen so far that Brook hasn’t really fallen to some unplayable spell of bowling but by acts of his own undoing.
Not that his team hasn’t tried to address the problem; it was Lara’s idea to send the struggling batsman down the order in a bid to avoid the extra pressure of facing bowlers first up.
But even that hasn’t worked.
Maybe what will is playing more IPL in the future, to go back and sort himself out where it comes to the matters of the mind. To talk it out. Get someone to give you a confidence booster.
Surely, had he been given a break for a couple of games much before the utter failures of the bat came through would have done the trick.
For the big question is, if Harry Brook is dropped now for the remainder of the games, then it will do more harm to his psychology than good.
As it is, SRH like many other sides at this time of the season, aren’t left with too many games.
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