McCullum Picks Siraj as Player of the Series, Gambhir Backs Brook After India’s Oval Win

Gautam Gambhir selects Harry Brook as England’s player of the series  

Indian head coach Gautam Gambhir chose to award England’s player of the series award to Harry Brook. The decision surprised many people in and around the series, as to why were the likes of Ben Duckett, Joe Root, and Ben Stokes, who arguably had a better series than Harry Brook snubbed.

Harry Brook was the fifth-highest run-getter of the series with 481 runs at an average of 53.44, with two centuries and two fifties, and a score of 99.  Perhaps the reason why Harry Brook was chosen as man of the match is that he nearly took the game and series away from India in the final Test at the Oval with his knock of 111 runs before Siraj pegged India back. Brook and England looked unbeatable at that stage, but a bad shot by Brook brought India back into the contest. 

And Dinesh Karthik in his Sky Sports podcast with Michael Atherton and Nasser Hussain revealed that the Indian dressing room and bowlers felt really under pressure whenever Harry Brook was batting as he didn’t allow them to settle in and was taking the game away from them in the first Test at Headingley, third Test at Lord’s and the final Test at Oval.  Hence, Gautam Gambhir opted to name Harry Brook because of his impact despite the individual brilliance of other players in the series. 

Mohammed Siraj deserved player of the series over Shubman Gill 

Mohammed Siraj entered the five-match Test series against England under immense pressure, having to impress in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia and on the back of poor form. Given India’s failure to win the first Test of the series at Headingley, Leeds, despite posing a target of 373, the pressure on Siraj only just ramped up. 

With Jasprit Bumrah’s fitness woes, Mohammed Siraj had to step up as leader of the bowling pack, and Mohammed Siraj silenced all his critics as he rose up in adversity and picked up 23 wickets in the five-match Test series - the most out of any bowler in the series. 

But perhaps the greatest moment of not just his series but his Test career came when he led India to an improbable win in the fifth Test at the Oval. Siraj led the Indian pace attack and picked up a five-wicket haul to grab victory from the jaws of defeat and level the series 2-2 for India. 

Given his heroic performance, Dinesh Karthik revealed that England coach Brendon McCullum, who’d voted Shubman Gill as India’s player of the series on Day 4 of the Test when it felt England were cruising to a 3-1 win, changed his decision in the final 30 minutes of the play. 

“If the match had gotten over yesterday (Day 4), Shubman Gill was the man of the series…Brendon McCullum had said Shubman Gill….Baz McCullum turned it around in a matter of half an hour, 40 minutes — to Mohammed Siraj”, revealed Karthik on Cricbuzz. 

Dinesh Karthik further revealed that the change was last-minute, which left Sky Sports presenter Michael Atherton very little time to change the post-match script. Hence, Sky Sports had to stick with Shubman Gill and present him the Player of the series title. 

“Obviously, Atherton [Mike Atherton] was the one doing the presentation. So, he had all the questions ready. Everything was for Shubman Gill,” said DK. 

Shubman Gill’s defies expectations in first series as Captain

When Shubman Gill was announced as the captain of the Indian Test Team post the retirement of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, there were a lot of question marks over his ability to not just lead the Indian side but also his ability to be a reliable batter for the Indian Test side going forward. Before India’s tour of England, Shubman Gill averaged just 35 in Test cricket, and those averages dipped while playing abroad.  

However, Shubman Gill at the start of the series made a statement that he wants to finish as the top run getter in the series, and he lived up to his own expectations as he scored an astonishing 754 runs in 10 innings with an average of 75.4, including four centuries and one double century.  Gill announced himself as the future of the Indian Test team by scoring a century in his captaincy debut in Leeds. India faltered in that Test, but Gill bounced back and followed it up with a score of 269 and 161 as he led India to a mammoth 336-run victory in Edgbaston. 

But it was his century in the fourth Test at Old Trafford that cemented his case as the best player in the series. With India trailing by more than 300 runs and 0/2 in the third innings on the fourth day of the Test, Gill walked in with India staring at an innings defeat and losing the series 3-1. Shubman Gill played a captain’s knock as he scored 103 runs, and India managed to draw the Test and go into the fifth and final Test of the series with a draw still on cards.