Alastair Cook to take time over captaincy decision

Alastair Cook's position at the helm of his country's Test team has become the subject of increasing debate and a 4-0 defeat to India has heaped further pressure on the experienced opener.

"When you lose games of cricket, you get criticised and you have to take it on the chin," England skipper Alastair Cook said

Alastair Cook says he will take time to consider his future as England captain, after an >innings-and-75-run defeat  in Chennai rounded off a miserable Test series in India.

Cook's position at the helm of his country's Test team has become the subject of increasing debate and a 4-0 defeat to India has heaped further pressure on the experienced opener. In an interview with Sky Sports following the loss in Chennai on Tuesday, Cook was directly asked if he remains the right man to lead England in the five-day format.

> Chennai Test: Day five in pictures

"This is not the place to be standing asking me these questions," he replied. "I've got to go away, do some thinking, get back home and do it without the emotive side of what's happened over the last nine weeks."

COOK'S CAPTAINCY RECORD

Asked if his Test side has stagnated in the last 12 months, Cook replied: "It's a fair shout. You can say whatever you want now. If I turn round here and slag everyone off and use emotive language, you're not doing your job.

Read: >Ali-Rashid not as good as Ashwin-Jadeja, says Cook

"When you lose games of cricket, you get criticised and you have to take it on the chin."

England assistant coach Paul Farbrace offered strong backing to Cook and said it would be down to the player to decide whether he carries on as captain. "Cookie will do the right thing for the England cricket team. He always has done and he always will do," Farbrace told Sky Sports .

"He has been an excellent leader in this team, we hope he continues but ultimately it's his choice. "The thing that we've been talking about within our small management group with [England director of cricket] Andrew Strauss is the fact we're working towards the Ashes series [starting in November 2017]. And within our plans Cookie is in those plans, to be the captain of that side.

"Nothing has happened in this series to change our minds in terms of him being the right person to lead the England cricket team. There will be conversations to have in the new year, I'm sure. Every series, he and Straussy sit and chat about the way forward, as I'm sure every England captain has done in the past. He leads this team very well. He's a very popular leader. We have no issue with him as a captain."

Joe Root is England's current vice-captain and would be expected to take over should Cook decide to step aside.