England skipper Joe Root has reportedly said sorry to all-rounder Moeen Ali for saying that the latter has “chosen” to go home after the second Test even though it was already agreed upon as part of the national team’s rotation policy.
Ali, who claimed 8 wickets and was the top-scorer in England’s second innings with 43 at Chepauk, has decided to go home for a 10-day break and he hasn’t been named in the 17-member squad for the remaining two Tests.
As per a report in ‘Mirror’ newspaper, Root apologised to Ali at the team hotel for saying that “he has chosen” to go home.
Some other British newspapers also reported on similar lines.
England on Tuesday (February 16) suffered a heavy 317-run defeat at the hands of India in the second Test at Chepauk.
After the game, Root addressed the media and said: “Moeen has chosen to go home. It’s obviously been a very tricky tour for him. As we mentioned at the start (of the winter), if players feel like they need to get out of the bubble, then that’s been an option. It is really important that we stand by that.
“With Moeen it wasn’t more asking if he wanted to stay, it was a decision he had chosen. Of course we wanted as many players available for as long as possible, but you also want them to be very comfortable here.”
Leading wicketkeeper-batsman Jos Buttler also returned home after the opening Test and will be back in India for the white-ball leg of the tour. All-rounder Ben Stokes and fast bowler Jofra Archer were rested during the recent Test series in Sri Lanka.
In fact, the England team management had copped a lot of criticism for resting the in-form Jonny Bairstow for the first two Tests in India. But the ECB has a clear rotation policy in place with cricketers having to spend months in a bio-bubble due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
(With PTI inputs)
