Harry Brook downplayed Gautam Gambhir’s decision to name him Player of the Series after the drawn Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy 2025. Brook felt Joe Root deserved the accolade more, having scored higher runs throughout the series.
Brook-Root Stand Record
Harry Brook and Joe Root holds the record for England’s highest partnership runs in a Test innings, sharing 454-run stand against Pakistan in 2024.
England’s rising batter Harry Brook downplayed India head coach Gautam Gambhir’s choosing him as the Player of the Series following the conclusion of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy 2025 series on Monday, August 4.
The five-match Test series between England and India ended in a draw after Team India pulled off a thrilling six-run victory in the Oval Decider, capping off a hard-fought contest filled with stand-out performances from both sides. At the end of the Test Series, both head coaches, Gautam Gambhir and Brendon McCullum, had to pick Player of the Series from both sides.
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Gambhir picked Harry Brook as England’s Player of the Series, while McCullum decided to award the honour of India’s Player of the Series to Shubman Gill for his extraordinary performance with the bat, amassing 754 runs, including 4 centuries, at an average of 75.4 in 10 innings.
However, Brook was not content with Gautam Gambhir choosing him as Player of the Series, stating that he did not score as many runs as his teammate, Joe Root.
‘Root should be Man of the Summer’
Speaking to the BBC after the conclusion of the Oval Decider and the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy series, Harry Brook believes that Joe Root was the deserving Player of the Series instead of him, given the amount of runs the England star batter scored for the hosts throughout the Test series against England.
“I didn’t score as many runs as Rooty (Joe Root), so I probably think he should be Man of the Series or Man of the Summer,” the 26-year-old said.
“He has been for many years,” he added.
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Harry Brook had a great series with the bat as he amassed 481 runs, including two centuries and as many fifties, at an average of 53.44 in nine innings.
Joe Root, on the other hand, was the highest run-getter for England in the recently concluded Test series, aggregating 537 runs, including 3 centuries and a fifty, at an average of 67.12 in nine innings. During the series, in the Manchester Test, Root climbed to the second spot on the all-time Test run-scorers chart, trailing behind legendary Indian batter Sachin Tendulkar in the overall standings.
‘Such a good advert for Test Cricket’
Reflecting on the Test series between England and India, Harry Brook admitted that players were exhausted after putting everything on the line. He added that the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy 2025 is a ‘good advert’ for Test Cricket.
“It’s been a very intense series. After every game, we’ve all been absolutely knackered. So we’ve put everything on the line. We haven’t left anything out there,” Brook told the BBC.
“And yeah, it’s been an awesome series to be part of, even that finish there. I know we’re on the wrong side of it, but it’s such a good advert for Test Cricket and hopefully people will carry on watching it,” he added.
Before the Oval Decider, the series was 2-1 in favour of England, and Team India needed a win to level the series, while the hosts were just a win to take home the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy.
However, the Shubman Gill-led Team India pulled off a sensational six-run win in a nail-biting finish at The Oval, denying England a historic home series triumph.