England captain Ben Stokes feels that Harry Brook has all the skillset to emulate the batting juggernaut Virat Kohli's all-format supremacy after the English young gun's exemplary show in Pakistan. The 23-year-old Brook played an instrumental role in England's series sealing 26-run victory over Pakistan in the second Test in Multan as he belted an incredible 108 off 149 to help his team take the driver seat in the match.
Brook's batting heroics came on the back of a scintillating 153 and 87 in Rawalpindi, with his red-ball international average sitting at an impressive 73.8 from his five innings. Witnessing the emergence of Brook, Stokes believes this is only the start for him, who he expects to shine across all formats of cricket as he compared the England batter to India great Kohli.
"After the summer he had last year, getting all the big-ups before he made his debut, to come here and put in that kind of performance again was just phenomenal," Stokes told Sky Sports.
"He's one of those rare players that you look across all formats and you can just see him being successful everywhere.
"It's a massive shout, but Virat Kohli is one of those guys where his technique is just so simple and works everywhere. The pressure that he puts back onto opposition is exactly what we're about," he added.
Brook could only manage 56 runs, averaging just 11.2 across six innings, as England lifted their second T20 World Cup in Australia. The middle-order batter has impressed in the shortest format for England in his 20 outings, though, with the expectation he will slot into Jos Buttler's side for the 50-over Cricket World Cup in India in 2023.
Stokes does not foresee the pressure impacting the form of Brook, given the comfortable manner in which he stepped into the Test side.
"The expectation on his shoulders coming into this team, because of how good he's been for Yorkshire, was obviously huge," he said.
"But I think that just shows that kind of stuff doesn't really affect him. He's a player whose technique is suited to all three formats, he wants to always look to be putting pressure back onto the opposition, and he's won another game for England.
"[He made a] huge contribution last week, and the hundred he scored here was obviously massive for us in getting that big lead.
"He's a pretty simple lad to captain: he just gets about his business, loves his batting, wants to constantly improve, constantly work on it. He's a pretty easy bloke to have in your dressing room."
Jonny Bairstow's injury paved the path for Brook and take the number-five role for Stokes, with the England Test skipper admitting he is fortunate to have such batting gem in his side.
"We're very, very lucky with the way in which we can replace Jonny, to have Harry coming in, because those two, batting No.5, they both go about it in exactly the same way," he added.
"They bring so much to the team and obviously Harry playing the way he has done at the moment with Jonny not being in the team, unfortunately, it's the best thing you want.
"You want competition for places, you want a strong squad to be able to pick from, and you want those headaches when it comes to the final XI every week, rather than saying 'I'm not sure who we're going to pick, let's pick a name out of the hat.'
"We're definitely not in that situation, and we feel like we've got all bases covered at the moment," Stokes further added.
England won the first test by 74 runs in dimming light on the last day through the aggressive approach that has now brought them eight victories in their past nine Tests under new coach Brendon McCullum and captain Stokes.
