Cook shrugs off KP's call to quit as England captain

England captain Alastair Cook has reportedly brushed aside calls from 'sacked' batsman Kevin Pietersen to resign from his post ahead of the third Test against India at Southampton.

Pietersen had said that Cook was only still in the job because it would be yet another PR disaster for the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) to sack the skipper now.

Cook has faced repeated calls to resign the captaincy from the likes of Michael Vaughan and Nasser Hussain during a run that has seen England go 10 Tests without a win, Sport24 reported.

Moreover Cook's form with the bat has also declined and it has been 27 innings now since he scored the last of his England record 25 Test hundreds, with the left-handed opener's last nine Test innings having yielded just 129 runs.

But Cook has insisted once again that he would not resign.

Cook said that the last three or four weeks, everyone's been saying that, and added that it is no different who else says it, in regard of Pietersen's comments.

Cook said that he has just got to stay true to himself and say how good it would be if he could get through this as a person, as a player, as a leader and take huge strides from it.

Cook added that he is desperate to carry on because he loves being England captain, and it's a huge honour.

The skipper further added that he said when he first took over that he just wants to throw everything into it and until that time where he does not feel as if he can carry on doing it or someone taps him on the shoulder then that's what he is going to do. ngland will face India in the third Test after the lost the second Test by 95 runs to the visitors, who lead the five-match Test series 1-0 as the first match ended in a draw, the report added.