Alastair Cook I alastair cook says it will be tough for team india to beat england in their own den WTC final didn’t even finish and Team India got warning

London: Former England captain and opener Alastair Cook believes that it will not be easy for the Indian team to beat the hosts in the five-match Test series and they will be mentally exhausted at the end of the long tour. The Indian team is currently playing the World Test Championship final against New Zealand in Southampton. After this, a five-Test series is to be played against England from August 4.

Cook told ‘ESPN Cricinfo’, ‘India have shown what a great team they are as they play the World Test Championship final. After that, however, it will not be easy to beat England in five Test matches on their soil. It will be a very tough series. The Indian team will stay here for a long time so it will be very mentally exhausted.

“India will have a good start, but it is very difficult to sustain it in five consecutive matches and beat England at home. I think England can win this series if they are patient in the beginning. England were defeated by India 3-1 in their hosting. New Zealand then won the Test series in England 1-0. Cook said that England had to bear the brunt of the wrong rotation policy, as a result of which captain Joe Root could not get his best XI.

“While playing for England or if you are the captain, coach or selector, you are judged based on the results and Root could not find his best player. Players like Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler, Jonny Bairstow make a lot of difference. Jofra Archer and Stokes were injured while Buttler, Bairstow, Chris Woakes, Moeen Ali and Mark Wood were given breaks.