Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) all-rounder Abhishek Sharma was in awe of Harry Brook's batting as the England opener scored his maiden century in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 season against the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) at the Eden Gardens on Friday, April 15.
Abhishek, who hails from Punjab, mentioned that the team management had faith in Brook's abilities and knew he would deliver as he did against KKR. He has a Test average of 80.90 and plays T20 cricket in a similar fashion.
The left-handed batter said that the Englishman has a clear mindset while playing which adds to his clean-hitting ability. "We all believed that he can do this. It was just a matter of time. We have played together at the U-19 level. We all knew inside that he's going to do something like this. That's what he did today. If you see his innings in Tests, it's almost the same as T20. He just reacts to the ball and plays his natural game, whatever the situation is," Abhishek said during the post-match press conference.
Brook was trolled on social media after scoring just 29 runs in his first three matches, especially with a price tag of Rs 13.25 Crores. But, on Friday, he became the first centurion of this year's elite tournament.
The Englishman whacked the KKR bowlers and reached 100 in just 55 balls, an innings which comprised of 12 fours and three sixes.
Sharma further asserted that the team management wanted to use Brook's skill to the fullest against the pacers hence they chose to promote him up the batting line-up. "Brook can take down any pace attack. That was the plan; we backed Brook to open because I was injured in between. I think that was a very good decision by the coach and management. We all knew how he plays fast bowling. He can take on spinners as well," Abhishek said.
"Everyone in the team believed he could do this from the beginning but it was just a matter of time for him because as a player also we played together in U-19, I have seen him so we all knew he'd do something like this very soon, he concluded.
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