"Big zero on humility" - Twitterati divided as Harry Brook takes a brutal dig at ‘Indian fans’ after blazing century
Sunrisers Hyderabad’ (SRH) overseas star Harry Brook on Friday, April 14, became the first centurion of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023.
Opening the innings against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) at Eden Gardens, the England batter clubbed 12 fours and three sixes in his unbeaten 100 off 55 balls. It was a much-needed knock after the 24-year-old had registered low scores of 13, three, and 13 in Hyderabad’s first three matches.
Brook’s brilliant effort lifted SRH to 228/4 after they lost the toss and batted first. Chasing a huge target, KKR were three down for 20 inside the powerplay. Valiant knocks from Nitish Rana (75 off 41) and Rinku Singh (58* off 31) gave Kolkata’s innings a lift. Eventually, though, they fell short, going down by 23 runs.
While Brook’s knock grabbed headlines for all the right reasons, his comments at the post-match presentation got social media talking. Speaking after winning the player of the match, the 24-year-old took a dig at ‘Indian fans’ and commented:
"If you're on social media, and people call you rubbish, you start to slightly doubt yourself. There will be a lot of Indian fans who will be saying well done, but they were slagging me off a few days ago. Glad I can shut them up now.”
Many were stunned by Brook’s comments and took to social media again to criticize the batter. Some users pointed out that the player was bound to face criticism if he doesn’t perform since he was purchased for a whopping ₹13.25 crore at the IPL auction.
@mufaddal_vohra Harry Brook Interview : If you go on social media people were calling you Rubbish & you start to slightly doubt yourself little bit.
#KKRvSRH #HarryBrook
https://t.co/jck57FlmdK
There was plenty of support as well for the England batter. A number of people hailed him for being frank in his views and giving it back to trolls. Here is a compilation of reactions from Twitterati to Brook’s post-match statement:
@mufaddal_vohra Big Zero on humility. This guy won’t be a legend for sure!
🏻@sumitagarwal_IN @mufaddal_vohra So if a person is being abused in worst possible way left right and center but still he should not call it out. If he does then he is a person with zero humility and he can not grow to become a legend. Point noted sir. Will defenetly pass on this message to my kid👍🏻
@sumitagarwal_IN @mufaddal_vohra Big Zero on humility from the fan base as well
@sumitagarwal_IN @mufaddal_vohra In a way he's right. England and Australian fans are a bit better when it comes to supporting their talent. We bash them when they perform bad and praise them the next day when they perform well. Even Kohli isn't safe. We don't back our players enough, especially the young ones.
@_FaridKhan Does he really said that? 🙄🙄
@_FaridKhan It's gotta happen no one gives 13cr to a new player, you have to go through it
@CricCrazyJohns Over confidence accha nhi hai beta brook
Pitch road thi to aagaye
Chennai , delhi ya Lucknow jaaoge tab pata chalega
@CricCrazyJohns He's played only 3 ODIs at 24.
By that time Kohli had already played 130 ODIs.
He should become consistent then talk.
@CricCrazyJohns Unbelievable confidence. He will be cooked this season so much that he will cry for sure. Ik how twitteratti are 🥶
@CricCrazyJohns Not many players have the courage to say this publicly.
@CricCrazyJohns Wow that's some confidence to shut them, hopefully let it be shut down till end.
@CricCrazyJohns True, our fans needs to understand the game/players better and they should have patience
@CricCrazyJohns He was so honest in his interview. To be frank what he said is absolutely true .Well played brook 🔥
@CricCrazyJohns He is inspired by King Kohli 🐐
@CricCrazyJohns You are still a flat track bully brook and will be exposed again on difficult tracks
@CricCrazyJohns That's the problem with trolling in our country,we always go overboard to never repair the damage that has been caused by hurtful words!Surya recently has been trolled to an extent that all have forgotten what he did for MI n India before,the same PPL will hide when he performs!
“Was a special night” - Harry Brook reflects on memorable innings
Speaking about his spectacular knock, the batter said that it was a special night, adding that he was happy it came in a winning cause. An elated Brook stated:
"Was a special night. Thankfully we got over the line as well. Got a little tense in the middle. A lot of people say that opening the batting in T20 is the best time to bat.”
Asked about where he prefers to bat, the swashbuckling big-hitter added:
“I'm happy to bat anywhere. I've had a lot of success batting at five. Made my name there. My four Test hundreds will have to be over this one. The crowd was phenomenal tonight. I enjoyed it."
While Brook scored a scintillating hundred against KKR, SRH skipper Aiden Markram also chipped in, smashing 50 off only 26 balls.