Humiliation at the hands of India could help Alastair Cook decide on captaincy, says Trevor Bayliss

Trevor Bayliss, the head coach of England believes that the hammering the team suffered at the hands of India on Day 4 of the ongoing Chennai Test could "possibly" help Alastair Cook make his mind up on whether to step down as captain. However, the head coach also said he would leave it to the batsman to make the decision on the captaincy.

The visitors suffered one of their worst days on the field in recent times as India led by Karun Nair, who scored an unbeaten 303, put on 759 for seven before ultimately declaring in the first innings. The 25-year-old became only the third player in history to convert his maiden Test ton into a triple hundred after West Indian Garry Sobers and Australia's Bob Simpson.

"I haven't spoken to him about it and to be honest, I won't. That's a decision only he will know the answer to and he's done it for so long, whether I say yes or no won't change his mind whether he keeps or going or he stops.

"If he keeps going, fantastic but, if he stops, I have no problem with that either. I'm sure we will speak on the phone at some stage but I won't sit down with him and have a chat.

"We have six months until our next Test match (against South Africa in July) so there is plenty of time for him to have a think about it. They may ask me what I think but I'm pretty sure that would be after Cookie has already made his decision", Bayliss said, as quoted by Guardian.

Cook, who recently became the first Englishman to pass the 11,000-run mark barrier in Tests, will reportedly meet director of cricket Andrew Strauss in January to discuss his position as skipper. If he decides to step down then star batsman Joe Root will in all probability be given the reigns with all-rounder Ben Stokes set to be named vice-captain.