Unassuming Harry Brook Makes IPL History Ahead Of Huge 2023

Harry Brook’s New Year’s resolution is quite simple: “More of the same please!” The rising England sensation is heading into 2023 off the back of a breathtaking breakthrough six months on the international stage. 

Turn the clock back to the summer and the Yorkshire batter was racking up the runs for fun in county cricket. A phenomenal tally of 967 in 12 innings at a Don Bradman-esque average of 107.44 is no mean feat. 

Since then, he’s been a part of England’s history-making World T20 victory in November and etched his name in English cricket folklore as the star of their record-breaking recent 3-0 series win in Pakistan with a trio of centuries on his maiden Test tour. 

And to cap off his meteoric rise, he became a millionaire in the recent IPL auction; fetching a cool £1.3 million as Sunrisers Hyderabad snapped up the run machine in a three-way bidding war. It made Brook the most expensive ever specialised batter in a mini auction in cricket history. Not bad for a lad raised in Burley, West Yorkshire.

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Given the whirlwind winter, Brook could be forgiven for thinking he’s just woken up from a dream, but that is the reality heading into the New Year for England’s brightest prospect. A diet of runs are all that’s been on the menu for the batter, who has an insatiable appetite for spending time in the middle.

The pressure has already been piled high on the 23-year-old’s shoulders. He has been earmarked to follow in fellow Yorkshireman Joe Root’s footsteps as a Test great. But let’s remember, just six months ago he was still trying to force his way into a stacked middle order.

He wasn’t so much knocking on the Test selectors’ door, but firmly banging it down with the sheer weight of runs he was churning out in the County Championship. But Ollie Pope, Root, Jonny Bairstow and Ben Stokes were the men in possession and England were on their way to their best summer since 2004. It was coined the ‘Summer of Bairstow’ as Brook’s Yorkshire team-mate smashed 681 runs in six Tests at an average of over 75. But a brutal bout of bad luck for Bairstow, freakishly breaking his leg after slipping on a tee box, opened the door for Brook and he’s grabbed his chance with both hands.

Lifting the T20 World Cup in November and breaking David Gower’s record for the most runs (449 in 1983-84) by an English batter in a Test series in Pakistan - he notched 468 - has skyrocketed his stock. Only Pakistan’s Mohammad Azharuddin, West Indian George Headley, Australia’s Arthur Morris, and India’s Vinod Kambli can boast of having three Test tons in their first six innings like Brook. And he's been jettisoned further into the big time with his huge-money IPL contract. 

Brook has the world at his feet and looks destined to be England’s next all-format monster. The unassuming Yorkshireman will undoubtedly take it all in his stride as he has done so far during his remarkable rise to the top. Unlike other batters who celebrate wildly when they score hundreds, Brook just nonchalantly takes his helmet off and raises his bat to the dressing room. Stokes even urged him to celebrate more, but he’s not that type of character — he sees it as doing his job.

There’s also a Yorkshire tightness to him which of Sir Geoffrey Boycott would be proud. The mix-up in the Third Test which saw him beat Stokes back to the crease so his captain was the one run out proves it. He’s made for Test-match batting. It’s not just the runs he scores, but the way he scores them. There’s a Sir Vivian Richards swagger to him, a Kevin Pietersen assuredness in that he expects to score runs. 

Brook showcased his exceptional talent during the Test series against Pakistan when he charged almost off the cut strip to open up the angle to hit in-to-out through extra cover. He has a wide stance like KP, but a low centre of gravity given the crouched position he adopts, copied from AB de Villiers, which allows him to access an array of strokes. Like the South African great, Brook can hit all around the ground — a real modern-day 360-degree player.

Despite not being one for the bright lights, he will have to embrace the glitz and the glamour which goes with being an IPL star when he travels to the biggest and most prestigious T20 league in the world. With a big price tag comes big expectation. But he will surely deliver as he has done so far during his blossoming career. And Brook wasn’t the only England star to fetch big bucks in the auction. 

Sam Curran sat on the sofa with his girlfriend and her dad as he became the most expensive buy in IPL history at a staggering £1.85m. The mega-money acquisition will have huge responsibility after being the biggest coup ever. He was named Player of the Tournament after his exploits at the T20 World Cup, taking 13 wickets at an average of 11.38. The skiddy left-armer will be utilised as a death-overs bowler, like he was for England, but also as a left-handed spin-hitting option, which pairs the two most sought-after attributes for a T20 player. 

Punjab Kings, for whom he will link up with England team-mates Bairstow and Liam Livingstone, eventually warded off Mumbai Indians, Royal Challengers Bangalore, Rajasthan Royals, Chennai Super Kings and Lucknow Super Giants in a six-way bidding war to acquire his signature.

Test captain Stokes joined MS Dhoni’s CSK for £1.625m, whilst Root will make his IPL debut after being bought for his base price of £100,000 by ODI skipper Jos Buttler’s franchise Rajasthan Royals.

*18+ | BeGambleAware | Odds Subject to Change

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