Joe Root apologises to Moeen Ali for misguiding the media on him missing the last two Tests against India

Though England lost the match by a massive 317 runs, right-arm off-break bowler Moeen Ali has produced a stunning performance with the willow against India in the second Test in Chennai as he scalped four wickets each in both innings. However, Moeen is all set to miss the last two Test matches of the four-match series against India as he will be traveling back to England as a part of the players regulation policy by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB).

Meanwhile, England skipper Joe Root created a blunder on February 16, Tuesday while appearing in the press conference following England’s defeat in the second Test against India and invited criticism for Moeen Ali. Speaking about the exclusion of Ali from the last two games, Root suggested that the spinner has himself asked for a break from bio-bubble.

“Moeen has chosen to go home. It’s obviously been a very tricky tour for him. As mentioned at the start, if players feel like they need to get out of the bubble, then that’s been an option. With Moeen it wasn’t more asking if he wanted to stay, it was a decision he had chosen,” Root had said during the press conference.

Joe Root creates problems for Moeen Ali

These words by the skipper had created havoc among the media and fans as many slammed Ali and expressed their disappointment for leaving the team in the middle of an important series that will decide the finalists of the inaugural edition of the ICC World Test Championship.

However, the truth is that the break given to Ali is a part of the policy created by the ECB in order to give proper rest to the players from the taxing bio-bubble. Players including Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler, Sam Curran, Jofra Archer, Jonny Bairstow, and Mark Wood have experienced similar breaks too.

As per ESPNCricinfo, Joe Root quickly realized the blunder created by him as he had reportedly asked for an apology from the spinner as soon as the team reached the hotel on Tuesday and also clarified that this was an error on his part as he failed to express his thoughts clearly and gave a wrong message to the media.

Root further extended his support to the rotation policy saying that he believes that the cricketers should also experience a proper work and life balance especially while staying in bio-bubbles. It is learned that the two players are on good terms after the skipper apologized for his error.