Joe Root issues apology to Moeen Ali as all-rounder heads home from India

Joe Root has apologised to Moeen Ali after calling his pre-agreed departure from the India tour a 'choice' and leaving him open to unfair criticism.

Moeen top scored in the 317-run hammering and took eight wickets in the match, but will now miss the third and fourth matches to spend time out of the bubble with his family just like every multi-format player has done this winter.

But Root's unfortunate choice of words left Moeen open to unwarranted criticism that he has somehow turned his back on a tour after playing just one game.

“Moeen has chosen to go home,” said Root originally. “It’s obviously been a very tricky tour for him.

“Of course we wanted as many players available for as long as possible, but you also want them to be very comfortable here.

“I think we’ve come to a point where he wants to get out of the bubble. That’s absolutely fair enough. I’m sure it wasn’t an easy decision for him, but it’s one we completely respect and understand.”

Mirror Sport understands that Root was sorry for the way the comments came across and has privately spoken with Moeen to reiterate his happiness at his departure and the prospect of more Test cricket for him in the future.

Moeen remains a hugely popular figure within the squad, but he has had to go through his whole career with others quick to jump on any mistakes he has made, which is why Root's choice of words have the power to do damage.

When the all rounder explained his break from Test cricket last year he said: "There have been days I've had not so good games but I feel like sometimes it's easy to point the finger at me.

"It did get to me and that was probably one of the reasons why I felt like I needed to step back from Test cricket in particular."

Now that Moeen has returned for his first Test back since the Australia Test in 2019, it has ended with fingers pointing at him once more for England's rotation policy.

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