England head coach Trevor Bayliss expects Alastair Cook, who has captained his country more times than anyone else, to lead them into next winter's Ashes.
Cook had recently admitted he did not know how long he would remain in the job, suggesting it could be as little as two months.
However, he played down that speculation of stepping down as skipper post the ongoing Test series against India before the start of the first Test itself.
However, Bayliss thinks the left-handed opening batsman will still be in charge when England head Down Under trying to retain the Ashes they won in 2015.
"He's talking about the next Ashes series and being out in Australia," Bayliss was quoted as saying by the Independent. "Sometimes there are little comments made along the way and they get blown out of all proportion."
"He's certainly up for the fight. I haven't had any discussion with him any other way and that's what we've been working towards," he added.
The 31-year-old had earlier said that whatever his future may be as skipper, he is looking forward to continue his Test career as an opening batsman.
"Deep down I don't know how much longer I am going to carry on. It could be two months, it could be a year," Cook had said.
But speaking to reporters on the eve of the first Test against India, Cook clarified his comments saying, ""It was just an honest answer to a question that is quite hard to answer. When someone asks how long do you see yourself captaining forward, we don't really know, do you?"
Commenting on the same, the England head coach said he was as surprised as anyone when he saw that in the papers.
Following the India series which the Cook-led side trail 2-0, England host four Tests against South Africa and three against the West Indies next summer, before flying out to Australia for the Ashes in November.
© 2024 Rediff.com -