Ian Botham remarks Alastair Cook has the best chance to pip Tendulkar

Quite recently we saw Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni step down from captaincy in the limited-overs formats after almost a decade-long stint. Yesterday, it was England’s Alastair Cook who stepped down with immediate effect by conveying his message to the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB). He though expressed his willingness to continue representing England as a batsman.

After drawing the series at home against Pakistan last year which was followed by a 1-1 result in Bangladesh, Cook was under severe pressure following the 4-0 loss in India in the five-match Test series a month ago. Now that he is relieved of the pressure, Cook seems all set to shine as a batsman.

With age still on his side, he has a good 5-6 years cricket left in him if he can stay up with his form and fitness. He has been England’s most successful batsman till date with a magnificent run tally of 11,057 runs.

Former England captain Ian Botham believes Cook’s decision to relinquish the captaincy could help him concentrate on his batting and pile up more runs at the top and perhaps even pip the legendary Sachin Tendulkar’s run tally. The 32-year-old stands at the 10th position in the all time run-getters in Tests as of now.

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Speaking to cricket.com.au, Botham said, “Cooky is the one player who has any realistic chance of challenging Sachin Tendulkar’s run-scoring feats and I wouldn’t put it past him to set a global standard for others to chase,”

“He is still a young man. He has made his last decision as England captain and it may yet prove to be one of his best. He will get a new lease of life as a batsman and be able to churn out more runs than any England player ever thought possible,” Botham added.

It would be interesting to see if the most capped English skipper can survive in the format without any twists and turns. The English fans would be pleased to watch Cook back at his prime and with the pressure of captaincy no longer on his shoulders, he has a better chance to prove himself.

ECB hasn’t yet announced Cook’s successor while Joe Root seems the probable choice as of now. England’s next Test assignment is 6 months later in July when they face South Africa.