Under-fire England Test skipper Alastair Cook is reportedly set to resign from the captaincy when he meets Andrew Strauss, the Director of Cricket of England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), later this week.
English news outlet The Telegraph has reported that the 32-year has been mulling over his captaincy career ever since he flew back to England after the disastrous tour in India where his team was thrashed 4-0 by Virat Kohli’s men.
English cricket fraternity has been divided into two parts over Cook’s future as the skipper after the Three Lions endured a torrid time in the longest format of the game. Cook’s men began the year in an emphatic manner by winning the Test series in South Africa.
However, the team failed to replicate that form thereafter as they drew at home against Pakistan, followed by the 1-1 draw in Bangladesh before a humiliating 4-0 loss against the world number one side. While the English team management and Cook’s teammates have thrown their weight behind under-pressure skipper, the likes of Michael Vaughan, Geoffrey Boycott have urged the ECB to sack him.
Should the left-handed batsman decide to resign from his post, it will bring an end to a topsy-turvy captaincy career which began with a historic Test series win in India.
It was followed by 3-0 Ashes win before the humiliating 5-0 whitewash in Australia. The-then England coach Andy Flower resigned following the disastrous tour but Cook did not leave the team when it needed him most but matter deteriorated for him when his team lost against Sri Lanka at home.
With calls increasing to sack Cook, he managed to silent the critics with a convincing 3-1 win over India. Two drawn series against West Indies and New Zealand were followed by another Ashes win in 2015 and he continued to lead the side.
However, this time around, it is looking tough for Cook to motivate himself to lead the team again. It was not the defeats but the manner of defeats that have left him totally clueless. His team lost by an innings twice in India even after posting 400 and 477 in the first innings of the last two Tests.
Moreover, the last Test ended in the worst possible manner for the visitors as after conceding their highest-ever Test score, they lost their 10 wickets in the last two sessions of the final day to lose the match that was looking destined to end in a draw.
The Telegraph further added that England vice-captain Joe Root is expected to replace Cook as the Test captain. After losing the Mumbai Test, Cook had said his deputy was ready to lead the side and reports are suggesting that it is only a matter of time before the right-handed batsman takes charge of the team.
Cook had said:“I think Joe Root is ready to captain England. He’s ready because he’s a clued on guy, he’s got the respect of everyone in the changing room. He hasn’t got much captaincy experience but that doesn’t mean he can’t be a very good captain.”
The report further added that Cook might retain the captaincy if his former opening partner Andrew Strauss presents a persuasive case but with Ashes coming next year, it is highly unlikely that Cook will continue.
Meanwhile, if Root is appointed the captain of the team, his first Test as captain would be against South Africa at the beginning of July.