Former England captain Nasser Hussain has slammed current skipper Alastair Cook for taking captaincy for granted and for not inspiring enough confidence within the team.
Hussain also added that Cook should hand over the mantle to Joe Root is he feels that he is doubting himself for being the right candidate.
If he still feels the same way he did when he started, if every defeat hurts him as much now as it did then, I believe he should carry on," Hussain was as quoted by Sport24.
"But if any part of him feels as if he's taking the job for granted, then he should have a serious think about handing it over to Joe Root. It's not a job you do lightly," Cook added.
Cook, who is the all-time leading run-scorer for England has come under a lot of scanner after his team surrendered in the fourth Test match in Mumbai and have fallen behind 3-0 in the 5-match series.
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The left-hander then endorsed Joe Root to take over the captaincy after the match. This led to widespread speculations over the future of Cook as the leader of the team.
"I think Joe Root is ready to captain England. He's ready because he's a clued on guy, he's got the respect of everyone in the changing room. He hasn't got much captaincy experience but that doesn't mean he can't be a very good captain," Cook said after the abject surrender in Mumbai.
The Essex-lad has been making several statements around his captaincy, and before his team embarked on the tour to Bangladesh and India, he made it clear that the burden of captaincy was proving too much for him and that being away from his family keeps hurting him.
Hussain who is known for being straight up said that if Cook has lost the hunger to lead the team, he should hand over the mantle to Joe Root.
Trevor Bayliss, the coach of the England team has however maintained that the entire dressing room is firmly behind the skipper and that all these talks about his future were nothing more than a 'pain in the backside'.
Bayliss further added that the record of Cook as a captain has been fantastic and that the team would not be happy if he steps down.
"I think everyone, to a man, in the dressing room would be disappointed if he wasn't captain," Bayliss said.
"But when it's constantly in the media all the time, it's a bit of a pain in the backside. Especially when no one around the team believes that or thinks that. It's a little bit aggravating," he further added.
The fifth and final Test between India and England will begin on December 15 in Chennai. The hosts have already wrapped up the series and would love to continue their dominance.
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