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According to Root, England’s No. 5 Test batter Harry Brook, who has been in red-hot form these days, is the best player in the world at the minute.
Joe Root picks 25-year-old star as best player in the world. (Picture Credit: AP, AFP)
Star England batter and former Test captain Joe Root has reserved big praise for his English teammate Harry Brook. According to him, Brook is the best batter in the world currently. The 25-year-old English batter has been in red-hot form these days. He scored a triple century for the Ollie Pope-led side in the first Test of the three-match series played against Pakistan in October 2024 and then crossed the triple-figure mark in both the Tests played so far against New Zealand.
Impressed by Brook’s super show with the bat, Root, who sits at the No. 1 position in the ICC Test batter’s ranking, said Brook is the best player in the world at the minute.
“If you asked me, Brooky is by far and away the best player in the world at the minute,” Root was quoted as saying by Cricbuzz. “He has such an all-round game: he can absorb pressure, he can apply it, he can whack you over your head for six, he can scoop you over his head for six, he can smack spin, he can smack seam. He’s so hard to bowl to.”
Before Root, England Test captain Ben Stokes also praised Brook and termed him ‘phenomenal.’
“From 40-odd for four on day one to being sat here on the winning side halfway through day three is pretty special,” Stokes said. “In cricket terms, that pitch was what we call a snake pit… it was doing plenty. Brooky is just phenomenal. No one has a right to go out and score 120 on that wicket against the attack that New Zealand has. There are only a few players in the world who could go out and play like he did, and I’m glad he’s on our team.”
Brook, who made his Test debut for England against South Africa on September 8, 2022, has 2280 runs to his name in 23 Tests played so far. He is the joint-fastest English batter to score 2000 runs in Test cricket. Brook achieved the feat during the first Test of the ongoing three-match series played against New Zealand in Christchurch last month.
