Alastair Cook says England needs a break after loss to India

England skipper Alastair Cook stated that his players need a break after suffering a crushing defeat against India at Mohali to go down 0-2 in the 5-match series. The loss also marked England’s fifth straight defeat in the last six weeks including their morale-shattering drubbing at the hands of Bangladesh.

With 10 days to go for the next Test in Mumbai, Cook revealed he and his boys will fly to Dubai for a short holiday. “We will get away, see some different scenery and come back for the last two Tests,” Cook told BBC Sport.

England’s Test series in Bangladesh began on 20th October and after drawing the series 1-1, the English side flew directly to India to play the Test series. After drawing the 1st Test in Rajkot, England was annihilated by the hosts in the 2nd and the 3rd Test to gain an unassailable lead in the series.

“I think most people would agree that five back-to-back Tests in six weeks is a heavy schedule,” added opener Cook. Cook has spent a mere 18 hours with his daughter who was born half-way through the Bangladesh series.

“I genuinely believe if we put a better standard of performance in we can put India under pressure, we just haven’t done it yet.”

England has had a pretty hectic schedule this year and by the end of their tour to India, they would have played seven Tests in two months and 17 in the entire year that also included their entry in the World T20 final against West Indies in April.

The schedule is a part of the modern trend which includes tours packed with international matches without proper warm-up games.

England coach Trevor Bayliss said it has been a long tour for the boys and they needed a break to refresh their mental and physical aspect to come back strongly in the 4th Test.