Harry Brook says Jonny Bairstow should go “straight back” into the England side when he has recovered from a broken leg and dislocated ankle.
Bairstow’s six hundreds is the most in Test cricket this year, despite him missing England’s last four matches.
Brook has made three centuries of his own since taking the place of his Yorkshire team-mate.
“Jonny is one of the best players, if not the best, in the world,” said 23-year-old Brook.
Bairstow was enjoying a stellar summer when he suffered an accidental fall while playing golf before the third Test against South Africa in September.
The injury to the 33-year-old gave Brook the opportunity to make his Test debut and claim a place in the England team that won the Twenty20 World Cup.
Brook has followed up with three hundreds in as many matches on the tour of Pakistan, the latest of which was a 111 that gave England a valuable 29-run lead on the second day of the final Test in Karachi.
He is the first England batter to score three hundreds in his first four Tests, the first to score three centuries in an away three-Test series and his 468 runs is a record for an England batter in an away series against Pakistan.
“I said to one of my mates I wanted to get two hundreds while I was out here, so to tick off three is really nice,” Brook told Test Match Special.
Bairstow is unlikely to be fit for England’s two Tests against New Zealand in February, but more likely to make a comeback on the limited-overs tour of Bangladesh in March or in the Indian Premier League.
England’s first Test of the home summer is against Ireland on 1 June, before the bid to regain the Ashes from Australia begins on 16 June.
In order to get the Yorkshire pair in the same side, England could ask Bairstow to keep wicket, though current gloveman Ben Foakes has had a good year with the bat and is described as “the best keeper in the world” by captain Ben Stokes.
Another option would be to move one of them up the order, with Brook saying he would “absolutely” shift from number five if asked.
“Most selectors say they like headaches, so hopefully I’ve caused a very big migraine,” added Brook.
“For me, Jonny comes straight back into the side. I’m not selecting the team, but he is such a big player for this side and has been for so many years.”
On Sunday, Brook arrived at the crease with England 58-3 after Ben Duckett and Joe Root fell to successive deliveries from Nauman Ali.
“I was on the toilet when Rooty got out so I had to quickly get my thigh pads on,” he said. “It was a bit of a hectic moment.”
Having found themselves 98-4, Brook was then involved in the run-out of Stokes that left the tourists 145-5.
With the ball played into the deep and Stokes looking for a third run, Brook set off, only to turn around and leave both men at the same end. Brook ensured he grounded his bat first, leaving the skipper as the batter dismissed.
“I felt it was my fault,” said Brook. “I said sorry to Ben and he said to keep going – I felt like I should have sacrificed myself.
“I said sorry about 58 times in the dressing room. Hopefully he has forgiven me.”
The run-out came after Stokes was made to serve dinner to Brook the night before the game as a forfeit for losing a six-hitting competition in training.
“I’ll have to serve his dinner for him tonight,” said Brook.
Following the Stokes dismissal, Brook shared a partnership of 117 with Foakes that helped England to 354 – a first-innings lead of 50 runs.
Pakistan then survived nine overs before the close to reach 21-0.
England already hold an unassailable 2-0 lead in the series and are looking to become the first team to leave Pakistan with a 3-0 clean sweep.
“We’d have probably taken that lead at the start of the day,” added Brook. “I can only see this pitch getting worse. It’s starting to crack up a little bit and pieces are coming out.
“Hopefully we get rewards tomorrow morning. We have got to stick to it. If we’re persistent all day, I think we’ll be on the right side of where we want to be tomorrow evening.”
