Ben Stokes has expressed huge confidence in Harry Brook's leadership abilities, saying he believes Brook is well-equipped to take over the captaincy whenever the opportunity arises. Stokes clearly said that he would fully support Brook as his successor. Brook captains England's white-ball sides. His experience as Stokes' vice-captain in the Test setup has also strengthened his credentials. Meanwhile, when Stokes was unavailable for the recent second Test at The Oval due to a disciplinary suspension, England chose not to hand Brook the captaincy; rather, the management decided to name Joe Root as the stand-in captain to lead the Test side.
“There’s a reason he was asked to be vice-captain of this team. I know with all the controversy over the last couple of weeks, decisions were made. They were decisions I was not part of making. You are asked to be vice‑captain of a team for a reason, and I was vice‑captain under Joe for a long time. It’s the natural progression; if the captain is not there, you step up," Stokes said after England's loss against New Zealand in the third and final Test.
“There is absolutely no reason why Harry shouldn’t be asked to do that. You don’t ask someone to be vice‑captain if you don’t think he’s got the skills and ability to captain the team. If I was to be asked who I think should do it, I would be throwing my 100% support behind Harry Brook.”
Stokes also hailed Harry Brook as a batter, highlighting his phenomenal skills.
"We all know he's a phenomenally talented individual when it comes to his skill as a batter. And if you lump a bit more responsibility on his shoulders with this team, we don't know if that's going to show any more improvement in the skills that he's already got," he said.