IND vs ENG: I Would Give The Captaincy To Virat Kohli: Moeen Ali Backs Virat Kohli to Don Test Cap For One Last Time vs England

Moeen Ali, an all-rounder for England, decided to come out of retirement to play in the longest format of the game for Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum.

The seasoned all-rounder, who is renowned for his ability to play an aggressive style of cricket, stated that Brendon McCullum personally called him and persuaded him to join the Test team before making the choice.

Brendon McCullum Persuaded Moeen Ali To Join National Team Again

Ali, a crucial player for the IPL’s Chennai Super Kings, explained the reasoning for his choice on Sports Today.

“Baz called and told me that, ‘look, this will suit your type of cricket etc, so yeah,” Moeen said.

“In my opinion, Ben Stokes is showing that it is okay to get out playing shots and England do need a bit of that.

There will be bad days, of course, but there were many bad days that were happening, there weren’t any good days anyway,” Ali talked about the philosophy of running towards danger and not away from it.

We Were Playing So Bad, It Was Quite Embarrassing At Times: Moeen Ali

The left-handed batter discussed addressing the subject from a new angle when asked about the change in mindset and the negative aspects of failure.

“In the white ball cricket, even after the 2015 World Cup, we also had bad games. We were having bad games in England in Test cricket, to be honest with you. The way we were playing, we were playing so bad, it was quite embarrassing at times.

With this brand of cricket, I know that it is a little bit extreme at the minute, but it is just more to give a guy more confidence to express yourself.”

Virat Kohli Should Be Given The Honour Of Test Captaincy: Moeen Ali

When asked about the dilemma surrounding India’s leadership in light of Rohit Shama’s frantic race to recover from a positive Covid-19 test, Ali believes that Virat Kohli should be given the honour.

“Because Virat was the captain earlier in the last series, I would give it (captaincy) to him for this one game. But it is obviously his call if he wants to take it or not.

He is probably relaxed and happy, his mind is probably settled with not being the Test captain. He’s got the experience, and to be honest with you, this is a big series for India,” Ali said.

England Favorites For The 5th Test: Moeen Ali

He disclosed that, in contrast to the previous match, India will have stiff opposition and may enter the rescheduled match as the underdogs.

“If this series was finished last year, India would have won 3-1, but now, I feel the way England have played I think India might be slightly undercooked, due to the lack of cricket in England,” Ali said.

“If England come out the way they have played in the last few games, England will be the favourites,” the all-rounder concluded.

On July 1 at Edgbaston, India and England play the fifth and final Test of the 2021 series.

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