Cook should step down on own terms: Ian Bell

Out of favour English batsman, Ian Bell feels that Test skipper Alastair Cook has done a lot for the nation and has earned the right to decide when to step down as captain. Following England’s 4-0 drubbing at the hands of India, Cook has been criticised from all quarters and talks have been going around that this is the perfect time to hand over the captaincy to Joe Root.

Despite supporting Cook, Bell feels that it’s only a matter of time before the captaincy is handed over to Root. Bell who is currently in Australia playing in the Big Bash League (BBL) said, “Cooky has earned the right to call his time. He’s been very successful not just in terms of the runs he’s scored, but also in terms of his stats as captain. We’ll see – it looks like ‘Rooty’ is the man to take over.

“I’m sure, as ‘Cooky’ has done right through his career, he’ll make the right call for the team ahead of his own individual thoughts,” Bell was quoted as saying by the cricket.com.au.

The 34-year-old also believes that Root’s adaptability as a cricketer will help him captaining the team. “He came into the team and started learning, (then) he got left out (but) then came back in. The great thing about Joe is he learns very quickly. He’s obviously become a world-class player like Smith and Kohli at the minute.

“He’s always had that natural ability. The consistency has been fantastic and hopefully that can continue when he does (become captain). I’m sure it’s only a matter of time before he does become England captain and hopefully, those runs keep coming.”

The Warwickshire man who smashed a fluent half-century for the Perth Scorchers in his BBL debut is hopeful of performing well down under but is still optimistic of earning a recall to the national side.

“I definitely want to get back in the (Test) team. I’ve been very lucky to have had a long career. I’d like to force my way back in, but that’s not really on my mind out while I’m out here. My mind is just on winning games for Perth Scorchers.

“I haven’t played a lot of T20 through Test appearances. It’s nice to be able to get the opportunity to play in one of the best T20 tournaments in the world with some great players. I’m going to learn a lot from some very good players in the next month or so and try to improve my T20 skills.

“When you come to a new team and you’re the overseas player, you want to start well so it was nice to get a win and contribute with the bat,” Bell concluded.