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RAJKOT. — Alastair Cook tried to dampen speculation yesterday about his future as England’s Test cricket skipper after admitting that he could quit following the current tour of India.In a Press conference on the eve of the first Test, Cook was questioned about his comments in this month’s Cricketer magazine in which he said he did not know how much longer he would carry on at the helm.

The left-handed opener, who is set to break Michael Atherton’s record of 54 Tests as England captain in the first Test in Rajkot, confirmed the substance of the interview but said it had been blown out of proportion.

“When someone asks ‘For how long you see yourself as the captain’ . . . I said I don’t know, it could be two months which could be the end of this series or it could be six months or the next one or two years,” he said.

“This is the kind of answer I gave and obviously headlines have been made. I gave an honest answer to an interview question (and) as always it can get blown out a little bit. My situation hasn’t changed. No one is talking about it in the dressing room, no one’s asked me in the dressing room. So to me it’s business as usual.”

Cook, who became England captain in 2012 and promptly led his side to a 2-1 series win in India that year, also said he would take every series as it comes before making any decision on his future. — AFP.