England vs India 2021: Michael Vaughan Feels England Shouldn't Have Appointed Moeen Ali As Vice-Captain

Former England captain Michael Vaughan felt that England should have encouraged Rory Burns to be the vice-captain of the side instead of the all-rounder Moeen Ali. The left-handed opener Burns has been a constant feature in the playing XI for the English side in tests especially and he has been doing well in the last two tests as well.

Moeen Ali on the other hand has been in and out of the side and Dominic Bess was preferred ahead of him last year. His good form in the Hundred tournament gave him a recall to the Test setup and he found himself as the vice-captain in the fourth Test after Jos Buttler left the squad.

Michael Vaughan Purplexed With England’s Decisions

Michael Vaughan was surprised by England’s decisions to appoint Moeen Ali as the vice-captain of the side for the Oval Test despite having a strong contender in Rory Burns. He added that Burns would have benefited a lot more than Moeen Ali if the decision had gone in his favour and reckoned that it had mounted pressure on the off-spinner as well.

“I always question some of their thinking. Why did they appoint Moeen as vice-captain? He has barely been in the side for two years. It would have been a nice little boost for Burns, who is a regular in the side, to be made vice-captain this week on his home ground. It was a decision that puzzled me and perhaps put more pressure on Moeen who is still making his way back in the game,” Michael Vaughan wrote in his column for The Telegraph.

Moeen Ali’s Poor Performance At The Oval

The off-spin all-rounder Moeen Ali did not have the best of outings at the Oval having made just 35 in the first innings when it looked like it was a road for batting. He threw his wicket away in the first innings after getting a start and it worsened with a duck in the second innings. His bowling performance was pretty ordinary as well with figures of  26-0-118-2 in the second innings and he did not bowl in the first innings.

India managed to take a 2-1 lead in the five-match series against England with one test to go at Manchester.

Also, Read – England vs India 2021: “He Should Have Got Man Of The Match” – Michael Vaughan Bats For The All-Rounder