Harry Brook Sidesteps Rohit-Kohli, Flags England's 'Root' Cause
With Joe Root levelling the ODI series to set up a Lord's shootout against India, Brook welcomed a reporter's question and echoed his Yorkshire teammate, admitting his side is having to learn on the job in the 50-over format due to limited exposure.
London: There was a lot of chatter around Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma on the eve of the 3rd ODI against India. England captain Harry Brook was not ready to entertain any of it at Lord's. When an Indian journalist asked him to pay early tributes to Rohit and Virat - who appear to be on their final tour of England - Brook kept things short and steered clear of any premature eulogies. "I don't know what's been said about Rohit. They've (Rohit and Kohli) obviously been phenomenal players for many years, and it's good to see them still playing the game," Brook told reporters.
With Joe Root levelling the ODI series to set up a Lord's shootout against India, Brook welcomed another reporter's question and echoed his Yorkshire teammate, admitting his side is having to learn on the job in the 50-over format due to limited exposure. Prioritising England's victory over personal milestones, run-machine Root was happy to stay stranded on 99* in the 2nd ODI at Cardiff.
“Good to see them still playing the game” - Harry Brook when quizzed on Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli#INDvENG pic.twitter.com/kBhVFpOtHw
— Siddharth Thakur (@fvosid) July 18, 2026
Following the series-levelling win against the No. 1 ODI team on Thursday, Root conceded that Brook's men are essentially learning on the job in the 50-over format. "I think you're always learning; you've got to keep trying to improve as a player, no matter the format or how many times you've played the game. He's (Root) played nearly 200 ODIs. He's still trying to learn. He's still trying to get better as a player, and he's England's greatest-ever batter. That's a fact - what he said, because you're always trying to learn and want to try and get better," Brook said.
With scores of 111*, 76* and 99*, Brook's Yorkshire teammate Root is yet to face a dismissal in his last three ODI outings. The 35-year-old also became the first Englishman to remain 99 not out in ODIs at Cardiff this week. Is England overly dependent on Root? The captain himself had no qualms admitting it. "Root has been such a good player for so many years, and it's awesome to have him on the side, and yes, we probably have depended on him quite a little bit in recent times in ODIs and Tests," Brook explained.
"Hopefully, boys can learn from what he's doing, and myself included, realise how easy he's making batting look to be able to just rotate the strike. He's arguably the best rotator of the cricket ball that's ever played the game. He just makes it look so easy. If we can add a little bit of Joe Root into our batting as a collective team, then we'll definitely be in some strong positions," he added.
As Root continues to dominate with the bat in the India series, new ODI opener Jacob Bethell has struggled badly, scraping together just 18 runs at an average of 9. Having raised his stocks with a match-changing century against the same opposition at the T20 World Cup, the southpaw will be desperate to produce another special knock at Lord's after a series of forgettable outings in Birmingham and Cardiff.
"He's a very talented player as we as we've all seen; we've seen how good he can be, and yeah, I think you can't judge a player off just two innings. He's playing against some of the best bowlers in the world on surfaces of the assisted the bowlers a little bit, and yeah, hopefully he can get into his innings and score big for us," Brook noted.
England's partial split with Brendon McCullum - released as Test head coach but kept on in the limited-overs setup - means Baz is now solely focused on white-ball cricket. Does that sharper focus help Brook and his white-ball side by removing any red-ball distractions? "That's a question for Baz," Brook replies with a smile. "He is fully focused on the white-ball side now, and hopefully we can keep winning games and putting ourselves in some strong positions," he explained.
Following a sobering home series defeat to New Zealand, England have turned the page on the Bazball era, leaving the national side without a permanent Test head coach and actively searching for candidates to take the team forward. The transition comes at a pivotal moment amid the twin white-ball series against India.
England will return to the Test arena on home soil when they host Babar Azam's Pakistan in a three-match series, with the Headingley encounter scheduled to begin just two days after the conclusion of the upcoming Hundred.
"We just want to go back to trying to win games of cricket. We want to put ourselves in strong positions as much as we possibly can to be able to dominate the game, and Test cricket is a long game, five days, and we could probably be slightly more consistent than we have been over the last couple of years," Brook added.
Former India wicketkeeper Dinesh Karthik made his debut when England last suffered an ODI defeat to the visitors at Lord's in 2004. No Indian batter has ever scored an ODI century at the historic venue. India are also concerned about the form of former skipper Rohit Sharma, who is surrounded by speculation that this could be the final match of his international career.
“No doubt Rohit Sharma will work it out. He brings that calmness to the batting line-up. So, without a doubt, no worries and concerns at all.” - Morne Morkel ahead of 3rd ODI against England #ENGvIND pic.twitter.com/BMcaR7JOHZ
— Siddharth Thakur (@fvosid) July 18, 2026
Midway through the traditional press conference, India confirmed the inclusion of Harsh Dubey for an injured Washington Sundar, as bowling coach Morne Morkel threw his full support behind the out-of-form Rohit. "It is hard work with a new ball up front. We've seen throughout the series that the ball is moving around. Batting up front is not easy. No doubt Rohit will work it out. He has done it in the past; he is experienced. And he just brings that calmness to the batting line-up. So without a doubt, no worries and concerns at all with the way he is going about things."
England Cricket Team
India Cricket Team