Regret the way KP's ouster was handled, remarks Alastair Cook

England’s leading run-getter in Test cricket, Alastair Cook, stepped down from the captaincy post of the England Test team recently.  His announcement came at a time when he was under severe pressure especially after losing the Test series to India 0-4. They also lost their first ever Test to Bangladesh during the 2 match series which was followed by the tour of India.

After captaining his nation in 59 Tests from 2012-2017, Cook finally decided to step down and give the younger Joe Root a crack at the highest honour. Cook took over the reign from Andrew Strauss in 2012 who is now the current director of the England team.

One of the most controversial moments during the reign of Alastair Cook was the ouster of English batsman Kevin Pietersen. After England were drubbed and humiliated by 5-0 scoreline in the Ashes 2013/14, Kevin Pietersen was axed from the squad. The removal was controversial as it appeared as though KP was the scapegoat of the aftermath that happened.

In a recent conversation with Sky Sports, Alastair Cook mentioned that the decision to leave out KP was one of the toughest. He regrets the way the entire scene was handled. “We all have regrets over how it was handled. I was part of that decision. I wasn’t the be all and end all of it but that’s the responsibility you have as the England captain. The fallout of it wasn’t great for English cricket,” quoted Cook.

“We were all over the headlines for wrong reasons. Our job as players is to try to promote the game as best as we can. It wasn’t the best six months but things moved on,” he added.

The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) director Andrew Strauss remarked that the decision of Alastair Cook to step down was a well thought one. He was finding it tough to cope up with the pressure and hence took the call.

“He was very honest with me from the start about some of the challenges about the role going forward and there are some significant challenges coming up and also how drained he was, it does take a lot out of you,” noted Andrew Strauss.