England’s Moeen Ali to return home, miss last two Test vs India

London: England all-rounder Moeen Ali will fly home to be with his family and will miss the final two Tests against India in Ahmedabad, captain Joe Root confirmed on Tuesday.

Jonny Bairstow and Mark Wood return to the 17-man squad that England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) named for the third Test in Ahmedabad, starting from February 24.

Moeen took eight wickets and scored 49 runs in the second test in Chennai, which India won by 317 runs to level the four-match series 1-1.

“From the squad, Moeen is the only one going home,” Root said after England’s defeat in the second Test at Chepauk.

“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 and for Mo, he obviously wants to be at home with his family and we completely understand that,’’ he added.

Moeen has had a tough few months, arriving in Sri Lanka and contracting covid-19 and left to spend a lot of time away from the action. He also missed the first Test of the ongoing series too, before featuring in the second game. 

England squad for Third Test: Joe Root (c), James Anderson, Jofra Archer, Jonny Bairstow, Dominic Bess, Stuart Broad, Rory Burns, Zak Crawley, Ben Foakes, Dan Lawrence, Jack Leach, Ollie Pope, Dom Sibley, Ben Stokes, Olly Stone, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood. (UNI)