COOK HAILS ENGLAND
The test and ODI captain of England cricket team, Alastair Cook, has said that the England team is capable enough to beat India in the upcoming test series even in the absence of Kevin Pietersen. The record of the England team in India is not that good. In the last 17 years, England has won only one test match on the Indian soil. But, the England captain believes that the team will do much better in India this time around.
When asked about the India tour, Cook said, “Beating the Indian team on their home soil is not going to be easy for sure. But, it’s not impossible. I don’t want my team to go into that series with a negative mind set. We should go out there thinking that we can win.”
“We had done pretty well on the tour of Sri Lanka earlier this year. The conditions in Sri Lanka were pretty much like India. So, if we can win a test match in Sri Lanka, we can do the same in India as well.”
Cook has been appointed as the captain of the test team after the retirement of Andrew Strauss. Strauss had announced his retirement from test cricket after the series defeat against South Africa. When asked whether the team is going to miss Strauss in India, Cook said, “Yes, definitely, we are going to miss him on India tour. He was a great opening batsman and a very good player of slow bowling. He could have been quite handy in India. But, the youngster who has been selected on his place is quite talented and I am confident that he will play well in his debut series.”
When asked about the exclusion of Kevin Pietersen from the test squad, Cook said, “Any captain in the world would want Kevin Pietersen in his side, but, according to the current situation, he can’t be included in the team due to some issues. Hopefully, he would be back soon.”