Harry Brook has hit out at “keyboard warriors” while explaining his decision to leave social media.
The England batsman scored a maiden IPL century in April, having joined Sunrisers Hyderabad ahead of the 2023 season. However, amid inconsistent form for his new team, the 24-year-old has been subject to trolling from a number of cricket fans.
Brook has enjoyed a fast start to life as a test cricketer, hitting four centuries in less than a year in the red ball game. That hasn’t stopped some criticising him from behind a screen, though, and he has opened up on the experience.
The England star endured a tough start to the IPL season. He hit 13, 3 and 13 again in his first three outings, with Sunrisers only winning one of the three games.
Things changed in a big way in their fourth game, though, as Brook bagged his first IPL century against Kolkata Knight Riders. Reflecting on that achievement, he told ESPN Cricinfo he was happy to be able to “shut up” his critics.
“It’s one of the hardest bits,” Brook added. “When you’ve got nothing to do, you’re in the hotel, and you don’t really get out and about as much as at home, you do find yourself on your phone a lot.
“Things pop up, but it’s keyboard warriors at their finest – it’s pointless,” he continued. “I’ve gone off it [social media] for now. Hopefully that makes a difference.”
Sunrisers missed out on qualification for the playoffs last season, prompting a recruitment drive which brought Brook to the franchise along with a number of others including fellow England man Adil Rashid. Play-off qualification could be a challenge again this time, though, after three wins and six losses in the first nine games.
Brook hasn’t been able to add to that century in the games since. His old coach Martin Speight, however, recently spoke of how the batsman’s game has improved after working on his technique.
“By putting a trigger in, it loaded his core up ready to move and helped to align his body properly so that his bat could come down in a straight path,” Speight told Cricinfo in March. “He realised that if his head was in the right position and his trigger was right, he shouldn’t miss it, and that’s still the basis of his game.
“He has an innate self-belief. He doesn’t look nervous when he walks out to bat, does he? So whether he is or he isn’t nervous, he trusts himself from ball one. To be successful, you have to have that. It’s what separates the best few players from the rest.” (Mirror UK)