Harry Brook is what India had hoped Shubman Gill would be – a supremely talented all-format, all-condition batter and the next long-term captain.
Gill lost form and confidence so quickly, he failed to even secure a spot in the squad for the upcoming T20 World Cup. Brook, on the other hand, is going from strength to strength, despite some disconcerting detours.
Brook is the captain of England's white-ball teams. And despite Joe Root's outstanding form against the red and white ball, Brook is England's most dangerous match-winner.
Even during the thrashing England received in the recent Ashes, Brook was a constant threat – both to Australia's bowlers and the anxiety levels of England fans.
The Ashes was an unmitigated disaster as England lost 4-1 to an injury-hit depleted Australian team.
Travis Head was by far the best batter of the series with more than 600 runs. Root was the next best with 400 but Brook – third on the list – was England's most consistent batter. He got a good start almost every innings, but found ways to get out playing the most audacious strokes.
As if the spate of rash strokes was not enough, it emerged that Brook had landed himself in trouble away from the field by getting involved in an altercation at a New Zealand nightclub right before the Ashes.
On the eve of the ongoing tour of Sri Lanka, Brook accepted his error and admitted he was lucky to retain his captaincy.
“I made a terrible mistake, not only as a player, but as a captain,” Brook said. “It's very unprofessional and I should be leading from the front and showing the players how it should be as a professional cricketer and a captain and I put myself in a bad situation.”
Brook then showed why England have so much faith in him by making telling contributions in their 2-1 ODI series victory in Sri Lanka. His unbeaten 136 from just 66 balls in the decider in Colombo was the difference between the two sides in a high scoring contest where England made 357 and the hosts made a respectable 304.
After the third ODI, former captain Root – who has also scored a ton in the game – came out to defend Brook once again. This time for the captain's WWE style celebration after reaching his century, which resembled smashing of cans and possibly alluded to the incident at the New Zealand nightclub.
“Hopefully, it's received in the right way,” Root said. “Definitely no malice behind it. He's just trying to have a bit of a joke with his teammates.”
A supremely gifted middle-order England batter and captain with some off field problems … we have been here before.
Kevin Pietersen was a once-in-a-generation batter who took England to great heights during their victorious 2005 Ashes, 2010 T20 World Cup and 2011 Ashes campaigns.
However, he had an equally fractious relation with the team and management, the most spectacular of which came when he was removed from the side for sending supposedly unflattering texts about Andrew Strauss to his opposing players in the South African team.
That incident came during a period in the early 2010s where Pietersen was increasingly pushing for greater personal autonomy in playing franchise cricket – namely IPL.
Pietersen came back into the fold eventually but things were never the same again.
Now, Brook's indiscretion is not in same realm as that of 'KP'. While Pietersen had multiple and serious differences with the establishment over the years, Brook only has this one incident against his name.
In fact, Brook has eschewed the IPL's millions over successive seasons, while facing the possibility of an extended ban from the league, to focus on his England career and captaincy.
But you also can't help but see certain similarities. Both are game-changers of the highest order and are lethal in shorter formats. But both also have an edge to them that can be grating; last year Brook blamed pollution for not being to handle India's spinners during a T20 in Kolkata.
Still, Brook has immense run-scoring ability against all attacks and will be the binding force during England's campaign at the upcoming T20 World Cup.
In case there is a misstep along the way, England might chose to be a bit more careful, possibly give Brook a bit more elbow room.
Special talents some times need special treatment. You can't blame England if they choose to do so.
