Moeen Ali has been newly appointed as England’s vice-captain. He was impressed by star India all-rounder and said that he was one of his favorite cricketers in the world.
This newly-appointed England’s vice-captain is very excited about his new leadership role. He is in fact looking forward to serving as a deputy to Joe Root. He will perform his role when the fourth Test starts at The Oval on Thursday, 2nd September 2021. On 1st September, Wednesday, the former vice-captain Jos Buttler who was a wicket-keeper got a paternity break. The captain gave him the break on grounds of the impending birth of his second child. So, Moeen Ali replaced Joe Buttler.
Ali was over the moon with joy in being given such a huge responsibility. He said that leading England was a huge honor for him. He added that entering the leadership group will definitely bring the best out of him as well as his teammates. Moeen weighed in on India’s decision to leave out R Ashwin for the first three tests of the series. He openly expressed his doubt on whether the premier off-spinner was likely to make it in the XI for the fourth test match to be placed at the Oval.
In the first three Test matches, India had chosen Ravindra Jadeja to play as the lone spinner. This all-rounder had picked up just two wickets. However, he was injured. This might open the door for Ashwin to play at the Oval. Even Moeen Ali said that finding Ashwin missing in the first three Test matches surprised him. He further added that his Chennai Super Kings (a team of the Indian Premier League) teammate Ravindra Jadeja was one of his favorite cricketers.
When asked about how Ali felt about becoming the new vice-captain, he said, “It’s amazing. To captain or vice-captain England in any form is huge and I am very excited. I am obviously not hoping for Joe to go off the field but if he does go off, I am looking forward to the role.” This is what Ali said at a press conference on the eve of the fourth Test match. He further added, “That’s the beauty of sport in one way but I also know that Joe would have done it if I weren’t. Things can change quickly and to be given the role is great. I do speak a lot to the players and we bounce ideas off each other.”
Many appeals from people presented themselves to include Ashwin in the team. As soon as India lost the third Test match against the hosts, the uproar for Ashwin to participate in the team and play the game became stronger. Both netizens and experts demanded his inclusion.
When asked about Jadeja, Ali said that most grounds in England spin a little, some more than the others. But there is always a bit of spin. He felt that Jadeja was an amazing cricketer, one of his favorites in international cricket at the moment. In his virtual press conference, he said, “I would always have him in my team no matter what. India after winning at Lord’s would have gone ahead with 4 seamers. I thought he did a great job. I am sure Ashwin has been and will be considered going in tomorrow.”
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