On Sunday, Mohammed Siraj and England batter Harry Brook had a tense exchange of words in the middle after The Englishman had struck the Hyderabad bowlers for a couple of boundaries. While that face off ended fairly quickly, you couldn’t help but notice that India celebrated a little too enthusiastically when Brook was dismissed for 99, holing out to Shardul Thakur off Prasidh Krishna’s bowling.
The uneasy relationship between the outspoken Brook and India isn’t something new with the England white ball captain seemingly always at some sort of odds with the Indians.
Here are a few instances:
Faces ban from IPL for next 2 years
Brook pulled out of the Indian Premier League for the second year running after he said he wanted to concentrate on his national side. Brook was bought by Delhi Capitals for Rs 6.25 Crore in the mega auction in November 2024.
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“I have made the very difficult decision to pull out of the upcoming IPL. I apologise unreservedly to the Delhi Capitals and their supporters. I love cricket. Ever since I was a young boy, I have dreamt of playing for my country, and I am extremely thankful to have the opportunity to play the game I love at this level,” he had said in a statement.
“I know not everyone will understand, and I don’t expect them to, but I have to do what I believe is right, and playing for my country remains my priority and focus. I remain hugely grateful for the opportunities I have been given and the support I receive,” he had added.
Due to this, the England player is expected to be banned from the IPL for the next 2 seasons.
According to a new rule introduced by the IPL, “Any player who registers in the player auction and after getting picked at the auction, makes himself unavailable before the start of the season, will get banned from participating in the tournament and player auction for 2 Seasons.”
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Brook had also pulled out of the league in 2024 when he had lost his grandmother.
“Whilst I don’t think I should need to share my personal reasons behind this decision, I know there will be many asking why. So I do want to share this. I lost my grandmother last month – she was a rock to me and I spent a huge amount of my childhood in her home; my attitude to life and love for cricket was shaped by her and my late grandfather,” he had posted on Instagram.
This was also the reason he had pulled out of the India tour in January 2024.
That interview after 100 vs KKR
Brook had also irked a few people when he said that he was glad to shut the Indian fans who were ‘slagging’ him off before he scored his first century of the 2023 season against Kolkata Knight Riders, adding that he was glad he could shut them up.
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Before this century, Brook had not caught fire in the Indian Premier League, scoring 13, 3 and 13 in his first 3 matches resulting in a lot of chatter online about the Englishman’s form.
“You go on social media and people are calling you rubbish. There’s a lot of Indian fans out there who’ll say well done tonight. But they were slagging me off a few days ago. Glad I could shut them up to be honest,” Brook said after the match.
The smog debate
The KKR connection continued in 2025 once again when after getting bowled for 17 runs by a wrong un from Varun Chakaravarthy in the first T20I in Eden Gardens between India and England, Brook had blamed the smog in Kolkata for England’s troubles reading spin.
“With the smog the other night, it was a lot harder to pick. Hopefully the air is a bit clearer here and we can see the ball a bit easier,” Harry Brook had said ahead of the 2nd T20I in Chennai.
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In that match, Brook met a similar fate at the hands of Chakaravarthy again, who sent the then England vice captain back to the hut for 13 runs.
This time when he was dismissed, India stalwarts Sunil Gavaskar and Ravi Shastri were in the commentary booth and did not pass a chance to bring up Brook’s comments.
“You don’t need the smog!” Ravi Shastri said when Brook was bowled. “The ball just snuck through and hit the stumps.”
After a short pause, Sunil Gavaskar joined in: “Well you said it! The light is clearer here in Chennai. At Kolkata there was some smog. No smog here. No idea where the ball was going. It hit the top of the stump. Harry Brook gone for 13. Look, is there any smog there?”
