Alastair Cook calls time on England career

Former England skipper and opener Alastair Cook on Monday announced that he is bidding adieu to international cricket.

Announcing the news, Cook said that he would call curtains on his international career following the fifth and final Test against India at the Oval.

"After much thought and deliberation over the last few months I have decided to announce my retirement from international cricket at the end of this Test series against India," Cook said in a in an England and Wales Cricket Board statement

The 33-year-old added that though it is a sad day, he is leaving with a "big smile on his face knowing that he has given everything to the national side.

 

"I have achieved more than I could have ever imagined and felt very privileged to have played for such a long time alongside some of the greats of the English game," Cook further said.

The country's most-capped player, however, has been in poor form this summer, with his position also coming under scrutiny following a run of low scores against the Virat Kohli-led side.

In the ongoing five-match Test series against India, Cook has managed to score just 109 runs from four matches played so far with an average of just 15.57.

Cook (12,254) currently sits sixth on the all-time list of Test run-scorers behind Sachin Tendulkar (15,921), Ricky Ponting (13,378), Jacques Kallis (13,289), Rahul Dravid (13,288) and Kumar Sangakkara (12,400).

The swashbuckling opener, who made his Test debut in 2006 against India, captained England for a record 59 Test matches and led the country to 24 wins in the longest format of the game. He has appeared in a total of 160 Tests for the national side.