England skipper Alastair Cook might be under pressure due to some poor results in recent months but he has full backing of one of the most important players in the team, Joe Root.
Cook’s captaincy has come under scrutiny in recent times after his team drew 2-2 against Pakistan at home, followed by a 1-1 stalemate in Bangladesh. The pressure has only mounted on Cook after his team lost the third Test to India in the ongoing series, but Joe Root is hopeful the left-handed batsman will continue to lead the side for quite some time now.
Root said: “I think he is pretty set on captaining for a few years to come – and I hope he does because I think he is a brilliant leader and I’ve really enjoyed playing under him.”
Root, who has been tipped to take the mantle from Cook, insisted he is happy with his current role and is no hurry to take charge of the team.
The right-handed batsman said:“I’m quite happy with the role I’m playing at the moment, and you want to do what is right for England and the side.
Backing his under-fire skipper, Root said:“Genuinely, honestly I think he is the right man. I hope we get these results we want in the last two games, and we can put right what has been quite a frustrating last couple of weeks.”
With a gap of over a week between the third and the fourth Test, the visitors have left the country for Dubai to enjoy a short mid-series break. It’ll also allow Cook to meet his baby daughter, who was born a couple of months ago.
Root said Cook is very professional and the pain of not spending enough time with his newly-born child is not distracting him.
He said:“I think he is coping all right. He’s very professional and you don’t really get much from him in that respect. I imagine it must be quite tough being away from a new child and family and everything. You could put a lot of blame on Cooky but actually it is the responsibility of the batters to make those big scores. You can blame whoever you want, but we have to take responsibility for our own game.
Meanwhile, the visitors will be desperately hoping they return to India with a fresh mind that will help change their fortunes in the series. England have won the last three series against India and will have to win the remaining two Tests to maintain their unbeaten record. The fourth match starts from December 8 in Mumbai.