Cook backs Buttler to fire

“It's clearly not ideal circumstances, not having any red-ball (match) practice out here. But sometimes when the pressure's off, you can come out and play and do something special. He's an extremely talented cricketer and we've all seen that in the one-day and Twenty20 format. He’s probably up there with the top three or four short-form players in the world.”

Cook sympathised with Duckett and said the youngster has a few chinks in his armour and once he sorts that out, he could be a good prospect for England. “We're dealing with a very talented guy, and he's earned an opportunity here. He won't be the only good player who's ever got dropped. He has an England future and there’s no doubt about it. He's a talented guy with a lot ahead of him.

“He's just got an issue which unfortunately has been found out quite quickly, as can happen in these parts of the world and in international cricket. He can go away and address that and come back again. 

“This is just a blip in his career where he'll have to go away and work at his game. He won't be the first person who has to do that, and certainly won't be the last.” Cook said the team is confident bouncing back. “Yes, we lost the last game but we’ve played some good cricket in the last 10 days and managed to put India under pressure – certainly in the first game. It will be great to get ahead of this game early, like we did at Rajkot, and then put some pressure on India. The guys are in good spirits. We've played some good cricket on this tour so far.”