Moeen Ali reckons playing the World T20 in India will be tough

England’s spin bowling all-rounder Moeen Ali, contrary to popular belief, says he prefers to bowl on pitches that don’t offer much turn. Ali troubled India with his off spin bowling when the MS Dhoni-led side toured England two years ago. Ali is one of three slow bowlers in the England squad for the World T20 in India that has started with the qualifying round.

“I like to bowl on those pitches that don’t really spin a lot. It is a little bit easier in terms of your line. But when it is spinning, you have more chances of getting wickets. But there you will also leak more runs if it is spinning as much with my style of bowling. If a person like Ashwin is spinning, he is still a lot more economical,” Ali said at the team’s open media session.

The Englishman said his job in the tournament was to primarily contain the run flow and not take wickets. “I have not been here many times. My job will be simple – to contain runs, not get hit for too many boundaries and not look too much wicket-wise. The pitches are very good here and the boundaries are short. My job will be to be very economical. I work on my bowling a lot harder than I used to,” he added.

Ali, who will man the spin department with leggie Adil Rashid and left-arm Liam Dawson, still saw himself as a batting all-rounder.

“I like to see myself as a batsman even though I am batting at eight. My role in the team is a little different now. So I have to consider what is keeping me in the team. (But) As long as I am playing in the team, it doesn’t really matter where I am batting. In my domestic team, when I first came, I was opening the batting. My role is to go and score quick runs depending on the situation of the game. It’s difficult for me because I am not somebody who goes in and hits the ball out of the ground straightway,” he said.

He did not want to talk much about the success he tasted against a top team like India who play slow bowling well. He also described England as a young and inexperienced side

“That was a while ago. I was a little bit surprised there. I did bowl quite well there in the Test matches, especially during the latter stages. That doesn’t really count for anything now. I am looking for the (fresh) challenge. Coming to India, in general, is a massive challenge especially, and the T20 World Championship is an even a bigger challenge. So it will be tough. When you have a young team you play differently and with a lot of freedom. (I) hope that can work in our favour on this trip,” he concluded.