"He’s the poster boy for Bazball" - Dinesh Karthik's massive praise for England star after Day 4 of 5th ENG vs IND 2025 Test

Former India keeper-batter Dinesh Karthik paid a huge compliment to Harry Brook after his stunning hundred at The Oval on Sunday, August 3, describing him as the poster boy of Bazball. Karthik hailed the England batter for his amazing consistency in Test cricket despite his high-risk approach.

Brook slammed 111 off just 98 balls to lead England's charge in a chase of 374 on Day 4 of The Oval Test against India. He hammered 14 fours and two sixes in his enterprising 160-minute knock before being dismissed by Akash Deep. Brook added 195 for the fourth wicket with Joe Root (105) to put the hosts on top.

Speaking after stumps on Day 4 of The Oval Test, Karthik was effusive in his praise of Brook. Asked for his views on the batter's amazing skills, the former India stumper told Sky Sports Cricket:

"He’s the poster boy for Bazball. He just comes out there, plays with a lot of flair, takes on the bowlers and does it his way. The beauty is, he is the kind of batsman, when he gets out, you are going to think, ‘what is that shot?’. But, when gets going, you are like ‘wow, that is serious talent’. We are always going to keep jumping on both sides of the fence. "As long as he trusts his game, the consistency is there to see. He is setting up Test matches, the speed at which he plays. He’s quite hard to bowl at because he’s pretty unpredictable," Karthik added.

Brook ended his batting stint in the 2025 Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy with 481 runs in nine innings, averaging 53.44, with two hundreds and as many half-centuries.

---

"Doesn’t look like he’s scoring runs" - Dinesh Karthik on dangerous Joe Root

While both Root and Brook smashed hundreds on Day 4 of The Oval Test, Karthik picked the former as the bigger of the two scalps for India. He explained that while Brook is someone who gives the bowler chances, Root is a batter who scores by hardly taking any risks. The 40-year-old elaborated:

"With Harry Brook, you almost feel you could have a dismissal round the corner. The problem with Joe Root is, he’s one of those who doesn’t look like he’s scoring runs. But at the end of it, he scored fifty, he’s build a partnership of 100-120. Only when Joe Root got out, I really believed India have a chance here."

Meanwhile, England will resume Day 5 of The Oval Test at 339-6. They need 35 runs to clinch the series 3-1, while India need to take four wickets to level the series 2-2. At stumps on Day 4, Jamie Smith was batting on two and Jamie Overton on zero.

Follow IPL Auction 2025 Live Updates, News & Biddings at Sportskeeda. Get the fastest updates on Mega-Auction and cricket news

Edited by Renin Wilben Albert