Cook: Taylor retirement was a huge shock

England

England Test captain Alastair Cook said it was huge shock when he found out that international teammate James Taylor had to retire from the game because of serious heart condition.

The 26-year-old Taylor was diagnosed with Arrhythmogenic Right Ventricular Cardiomyopathy (ARVC) and was forced to quit the game as he would need to undergo surgery to his heart.

Taylor played under Cook in England's most recent Test series in South Africa as the visitors triumphed the top-ranked team two-one in the four-match series.

Cook said on BBC Radio about Taylor: "He proved people wrong time and time again and was a great character to have around the dressing room.

"It's a career cut very short but, on the flip side, at least it's been detected and we're not talking about something a lot worse.

"When I found out on Monday night it was a huge shock, and a realisation of how lucky we are that we are able to play this great game. If there's a guy that can handle what he's going through, it's him because of his character.

"Hopefully the operation can go well and we'll see him around, and adding his talent to the English game in a different way."

A right-handed batsman, Taylor played seven Tests and 27 ODIs for the Three Lions.

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