Cook defends Strauss's decision to skip Bangladesh tour

London, Feb 13(ANI): England stand-in skipper Alastair Cook has backed regular captain Andrew Strauss's decision to rest himself for the tour to Bangladesh.

Strauss has been accused of "disrespecting Test cricket" by Australian legend Shane Warne for resting instead of touring Bangladesh.

"Straussy didn't just make decision on one night. He took a long time. It is pro-active in his mind. There is a huge amount of cricket coming up and he thinks he needs a rest and this is the best opportunity to do it," The Telegraph quoted Cook, as saying.

"He said he is always on the phone. We have chatted this week, but he is very keen for me to do it my way," he added.

When asked how the team will approach the Bangladesh tour, where they will play two Tests and three one-dayers after a short stay in Dubai for two Twenty20 internationals against Pakistan, Cook said:

"We obviously see this is a massive tour in terms of continuing the momentum from South Africa and Australia."

"We have got a World Cup in sub-continent conditions next year so for the one-day team it is a chance to work on our game so that in 12 months' time in India we have got a bit more knowledge of how we want to play those games," he added.

The 25-year-old further said he is eagerly looking up to successfully completing the responsibility given to him by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB).

"The captain's role is a 24-7 job and I will find out in the next six weeks how big the role is. To me, at the moment, I just love playing cricket and I am very appreciative of the fact I can do that," he said. (ANI)