Moeen Ali accuses Shubman Gill of copying Virat Kohli, claims it woke up a beast in England

Former England all-rounder Moeen Ali has defended the young Indian captain Shubman Gill after his fiery behavior at Lord’s was slammed by many following his team’s narrow 22-run defeat in the third Test of the ongoing five-match Test series against England.

Many fans and cricket experts were not pleased with Shubman Gill’s aggression; Moeen Ali saw no problem with it, saying the young skipper was just being competitive and fighting for his team at Lord’s. Gill got into a heated moment with England’s Zak Crawley late on Day 3.

Moeen Ali defends Shubman Gill after his fiery Lord’s outburst sparks backlash

With India having leveled England’s first-innings score, Gill wanted one more over before stumps. But Crawley, after being hit on the glove, stepped away a few times and even called for the physio, slowing down play. Frustrated, Gill shouted on the stump mic, “Get some balls, grow some fuck**g balls,” which sparked debate among the fans and cricket experts.

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Some compared the Punjab lad’s aggressive attitude to Virat Kohli, who had shown similar emotions at Lord’s in the past. But since India lost the match to England, Shubman Gill's behavior was criticized even more. Now, England leads the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy by a 2-1 margin against India.

Shubman Gill brought out the best of England at Lord's: Moeen Ali

Well, Moeen Ali, who is currently playing in the Global Super League, said that Shubman Gill was just trying to be tough and lead from the front. However, the Englishman also pointed out that this aggression might have fired up the English players and pushed them to fight harder, and it eventually helped the hosts to win the third Test against India.

Moeen Ali was quoted as saying by FanCode: “It's fine; I think he was just trying to be competitive and try to fight, very similar to Virat Kohli. I think it's fine. But what you have done is that you brought out the best of England, the fight, and the beast England can be. I think that's the different side of England that the players showed. It's great for the series; I don't know why he gets criticized.”

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I would like to see Kuldeep Yadav in, but I don't think they can fit him in: Moeen Ali

Meanwhile, Moeen Ali has joined the growing conversation about Kuldeep Yadav’s absence from India’s playing XI in the ongoing five-match Test series. Ali admitted that he would love to see the talented wrist-spinner in action, but acknowledged India’s tough reality of team selection.

With Washington Sundar impressing with the ball and Ravindra Jadeja contributing in both departments, Moeen believes that there's simply no space for Kuldeep in the current setup. He praised both Sundar and Jadeja for their recent form and said that their strong performances make it tough for the team to drop either of them for Kuldeep in England.

Moeen signed off by saying, “I would like to see him in the team, but I don't know who for. Washi has bowled well, and Jadeja has batted well. It makes it difficult to bring Kuldeep Yadav in on the side. I would like to see Kuldeep in, but I don't think they can fit him in.”