Former Indian wicket-keeper bat Saba Karim slammed Harry Brook’s shot selection after the England right-hander was dismissed after scoring 23 runs off 19 balls. Brook took an aggressive approach from the get-go but was bowled by Akash Deep while attempting a paddle sweep.

The attacking batter had scored 15 runs in the previous over against Akash Deep. Brook had scored 158 runs in the first innings of the second Test at Edgbaston, Headingley and thus his wicket was crucial for the team as he is known to take away the game from the opposition with his blistering batting.

“The attack had started and the momentum was shifting. There was a 37-run partnership, and Harry Brook had done the job of breaking the bowler’s rhythm. After that, playing this shot, it’s very difficult to explain. Harry Brook might find it very difficult to explain it to himself,” Saba Karim said on Sony Sports.

“Why on earth would you play that kind of shot? You had to play smart cricket here. You had done the job you were supposed to do. If you played this over with a straight bat, there wouldn’t have been any problems,” he added.

Karim noted that Brook played an on-drive against Nitish Kumar Reddy in the previous over and should have played a similar shot against Deep.

“He had played an on-drive between midwicket and mid-on in the previous over from Nitish Kumar Reddy. So it’s not like he can’t play shots in that direction. At this time, the pressure was mounting on Akash Deep, and it was a moment in that innings when England were slowly and slowly taking control,” he observed.

The former Indian selector said it was a massive error by Harry Brook when he attempted the risky shot.

“It was a massive error by Harry Brook. How many times do we talk about playing after keeping your ego within you? Many times, you feel that you have already played that shot, that you have been playing the scoop shot, but you didn’t even play the scoop here,” he said.

India ended the fourth day’s play at 58-4, needing another 135 runs to win.