England vs India 2018: Alastair Cook Recalls Conveying Retirement Plan to Teammates

Once again England bagged the series against India at their home. All the members in the dressing room are elated with the achievement. Meanwhile, Alastair Cook dropped down a bomb by calling it quits from international cricket.

Alastair Cook announced it to the board after the conclusion of the series victory in Southampton. The southpaw quoted he wouldn’t have revealed it if the series was levelled 2-2 after the game at The Ageas Bowl, Southampton.

I told Joe Root before the 4th Test – Alastair Cook

The former skipper Alastair Cook has always been close to Joe Root. He revealed he informed about his retirement decision to Joe Root first and later, spoke about it with the head coach, Trevor Bayliss.

Cook went on to add saying he revealed the news to his team members in the evening after having a couple of beers. Alastair Cook stated it was an emotional one for him and the team members.

”I told Rooty before the game, then [England head coach] Trevor Bayliss during the game. I was a couple of beers in when I told the guys which I needed to be. There were a few tears but I managed to hold it together. ‘I told everyone it was time,” Cook said during the press conference.

”There was silence for a bit and then Mo [Ali] said something, everyone laughed and we got on with it. ‘If the series was 2-2 I would have kept my mouth shut. If I could play a really good inning [in his final match at The Oval] that would be fantastic,” he added to his lines.

Kevin Pietersen affair was a tough year for me – Alastair Cook

When asked about any regrets of his career, Alastair Cook quoted the incident that happened with Kevin Pietersen is the one which could have done better.

Back then, there were a lot of issues gone between Kevin Pietersen and the ECB in which Alastair Cook got blamed for no reason.

He added the board should have handled the matter well rather than making him bore the brunt of it. Apart from that, Alastair is happy with his glorious 12-year career for his country.

“Clearly the KP [Kevin Pietersen] affair was a tough year, there’s no doubt about that. The fall-out from that was not great for English cricket or me. It was obviously a big part of my captaincy. I felt like it wasn’t handled particularly well by the ECB. I know I was the lightning rod for it,” he inferred.

However, Alastair Cook had a great journey in English attire for his country. His numbers will describe the mettle in him and the hard work he had done over the years for his country.