James Anderson has credited Alastair Cook for helping turn England's Test team into a more expressive side.

Cook's tenure as England captain may be set to come to an end following their 4-0 hammering at the hands on India, the start of a bad tour of the sub-continent that saw England also lose their one-day international and Twenty20 series.

Appointed as the full-time successor to Andrew Strauss as England skipper in 2012, Cook has overseen 59 Tests, winning 24 of them to have a win percentage of 40.67.

No other player has led the national side in so many games but, with England not playing five-day cricket until July, there remains speculation that Cook could step down and hand the reins to Joe Root.

While some may be critical of Cook's captaincy style at times, Anderson believes the 32-year-old has played a pivotal role in transforming the side.

"I think he's done well, there's a lot of things that he was probably not that natural with to start with," Anderson said.

"Tactically he's learnt a lot, improved a lot. Speaking to the group, he wasn't great but he's improved so much over the last couple years. So I think he's done fantastically well.

"And I think the sort of feeling in the group at the moment, we've got quite a young squad, and just trying to get guys to go out there and express themselves, show off their talent. I think Cooky's been a big driver of trying to get people to relax and play their natural way.

Anderson is confident Root will handle the pressure that comes with the responsibility of being captain should he replace Cook in the near future.

"Joe's already quite a mature guy," he added. "I think he's 25. He might look young but he's pretty mature compared to some.

"Obviously, fatherhood gives him a bit more responsibility and something else to think about away from the game. I think he'll cope with it brilliantly.

"He's a very good batsman, he's our best player by a long way and he's been brilliant the last few years, gone from strength to strength and he's made himself into one of the best players in the world, so to have someone like that in your team is incredible really.

"That's going to be a massive part of our success in the future."