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There could be multiple reasons for not selecting Harry Brook as the successor to Ben Stokes in the Test team. Brook was the vice-captain of the team when Stokes announced his retirement after England's home Test series defeat against New Zealand.
Traditionally, in the absence of the captain, it is the duty of the vice-captain to lead the team. Harry Brook did not receive the opportunity as the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) reassigned Joe Root as the Test team captain. Why the ECB did not consider him eligible to take over the job is a debatable topic, but Brook himself told BBC Sport that currently Root is the best person to lead the team.
Why did the ECB not pick Harry Brook as Test team captain?
Workload management, pressure control, or even a previous controversial episode might be the reasons why the ECB looked beyond Brook. Harry Brook is the national team captain for the ODIs and T20Is, so there is enough pressure on him. Another captaincy role might not help the batter improve his game. Brook as Test team captain could backfire.
The team fetched decent results across the white-ball formats under his leadership. ECB's only aim was to drag the Test team on the right track, causing no harm to the teams for the other two formats.
Harry Brook's reaction to the nightclub incident theory
In another theory, a nightclub incident in Wellington the eve of a one-day international against New Zealand must have dented Brook's reputation. These are only theories; only the board officials can tell the actual reasons for ignoring him for the Test captaincy role.
"I dunno. I honestly don't know. I don't really look at it like that," Brook told the BBC.
Brook, however, was not offended to see Joe Root as the Test team captain. In the video, England's white-ball captain said that the decision to appoint Root as captain is very sensible, and he is excited to see how the team performs under his leadership.
"The decision to make Rooty captain is the right one. I'm actually really excited to see what he can do. He's definitely the right man to take over that job. I'm really looking forward to working alongside him," he added.
Despite the team's recent poor outings in the format, Harry Brook somehow manages to keep his form in a streamlined state. He is among the very few active batters who are balancing all three formats precisely.
Harry Brook remains one of the most dependable batters in Test for England
After making his Test debut in 2022, the right-handed batter has so far played 38 Test matches for England and scored 3,395 runs in 66 innings, powered by a batting average of 53.04. In those 66 innings, the 18-year-old has scripted ten centuries, including a highest score of 317, and 18 half-centuries.
Brook emerged as one of the most lethal batters for the team when their former Test team coach Brendon McCullum allowed his batters to score runs aggressively.
