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Harry Brook faces wrath for blaming Kolkata smog as biggest reason for England's failure against Varun Chakaravarthy
Harry Brook was trolled for saying that the Kolkata smog was one of the biggest reasons why England failed to pick India's Varun Chakarvarthy from his hand.
England vice-captain Harry Brook landed in hot soup for his comments about the Kolkata smog that he believed was one of the main reasons why English batters struggled to pick the spinners during the first T20I against India at the Eden Gardens. The right-handed batter said the hazy Kolkata weather made it difficult for them to pick the likes of Varun Chakaravarthy from his hand.
Chakravarthy picked up the wickets of Jos Buttler, Liam Livingstone and Brook during his game-changing spell of 3 for 33 in India's emphatic seven-wicket victory over England in the first of the five-match T20I series.
"Chakaravarthy is an exceptionally good bowler," Brook told the Daily Telegraph.
"But 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."
"Facing spin in T20 cricket is probably the hardest thing in the game, especially because I always get out trying to absolutely smack it," he said.
Brook's comments did not go down too well with the Indian fans, who trolled the England batter. Some poked him with a reminder that he was picked by Delhi Capitals in this season's IPL, a city, statistically known as one of the most polluted ones in the country.
A few fans found no logic in Brook's comments, as in the same conditions, India's Abhishek Sharma smashed 74 off 39 balls, while others, like Sanju Samson, also showed no signs of having problems sighting the ball.
Brook said that he is devising his own method to counter spin.
"Maybe I've got to rein in a little bit, but we'll see. I think I do have a method. It's just trying to do it consistently and more often. I come in the middle order, so the first few balls I face are usually off spin."
Brook had an IPL century couple of seasons back when he played for Sunrisers Hyderabad against Chakravarthy's Kolkata Knight Riders.
Having been completely bamboozled by the wrist spinner, Brook wouldn't mind revisiting his hour of glory against a known opposition.
"I was going to watch it on the way in (to Friday's practice session) but my phone wouldn't work, so I'll have a look a little bit later," he added.
