ENG vs IND 2018: Alastair Cook Has Been One Of England's Greatest Cricketers: Ravi Shastri

India head coach Ravi Shastri, on Wednesday, paid a glowing tribute to Alastair Cook who would retire after the upcoming fifth England vs India Test.

Earlier this week, Cook announced he would bring down curtains on his glittering career after the fifth Test. The retirement would bring an end to a glorious career that began in the best possible manner. On his debut way back in 2006 in Nagpur, a 21-year old Cook scored 60 and 104 not out to mark his arrival. And he did not look back since then.

He played a crucial role in making England one of the best Test teams in the world between 2009 and 2013. Cook has played more Tests, scored more runs and more centuries than any England cricketer in history. He is the sixth highest run-scorer in Tests as of now.

One of Cook’s finest performances came during the 2010-11 Ashes series in Australia. He batted over 36 hours in the five-match series which is a world record in a five Test series and an English record even including six Test series.

He bagged the Man of the Match award after scoring a mammoth 766 runs to become England’s second highest series scorer behind 906 by Wally Hammond. In five games, he scored one double century, two centuries and as many fifties.

“I saw his first Test at Nagpur. He’s been one of England’s greatest cricketers. A real tough cookie. There were times in his career when he did look the master chef when he was out in the middle,” said Ravi Shastri.

Meanwhile, Cook has endured a terrible time in the ongoing series. The former England skipper would be desperate to bow out on a high when he dons the England jersey for one last time in the upcoming game.