Former England all-rounder Moeen Ali believes Shubman Gill's aggressive on-field demeanour closely resembles that of Virat Kohli but warns that such intensity may have fired up England during the Lord’s Test.
Gill, who has been one of India’s standout performers in the ongoing Test series, has drawn praise and criticism for his animated celebrations and verbal exchanges, particularly during the second and third Tests.
What Moeen Ali Feels?
“My take is, it's fine. I think he's just trying to be competitive in front of a fight and very similar to Virat, I think it's fine,” Moeen said on Wednesday during an interaction while representing Guyana Amazon Warriors in the Global Super League (GSL).
“But then, obviously the other team, what you've done is, I think you've actually brought out the best of England and the fight and that beast England can be,” he added.
“And I think it's a different side of England. They've shown all the players that it's great for the series to win. I don't know why it's getting criticised.”
Aggression Drew Crticism Too
Former 온라인카지노 cricketers Sanjay Manjrekar and Mohammad Kaif have pointed out that Gill’s confrontations with England openers Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett at Lord’s may have distracted him, resulting in scores of 16 and 6 in a narrow 22-run loss.
That performance came after a stunning run of form where Gill notched a double ton at Headingley and followed it up with a century in Birmingham, helping India win by a record 336 runs.
While Moeen was critical of Gill’s approach potentially backfiring at Lord’s, he reserved high praise for Ravindra Jadeja—his Chennai Super Kings teammate in the IPL—for his batting consistency through the series.
“He just knows what he's doing. I think he's done it for many years. I think he's been amazing with the bat this series, obviously,” Moeen said. “I think with the ball, he hasn't quite got the wickets, but he does what he does.
"He's very tight. He can bowl, but he's not outstanding. He's been batting well for a few years now, I think. Especially even last time they came to England, he batted brilliantly, and I think now he's at the peak of his batting. Bowling wise, I think he just doesn't have the wickets. With the tally, I think he's bowled well, he just doesn't have the wickets.”
With Jadeja’s bowling returns being modest and the pitches offering turn, there has been growing buzz around the inclusion of left-arm wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav. Moeen too acknowledged the value Kuldeep could add but recognised the selection conundrum.
Moeen Ali Advocates For Kuldeep Yadav
“I would like to see Kuldeep in the team, but I don't know who for. Washington's bowled well, Jadeja batted well. So it makes it difficult to bring Kuldeep Yadav in the side,” Moeen said. “I would like to see Kuldeep in, but I don't think they can fit him in.”
India were bowled out for 170 while chasing 193 in the fourth innings at Lord’s, allowing England to take a 2-1 lead in the five-match series. Moeen reflected on how challenging batting became in the final innings and credited England for edging ahead.
“I think, at Lord's it can happen. Because there's always something for the ball, even though the period where it looked easy for batting, there's always a few periods where... it makes it a little bit difficult,” Moeen said.
“I think KL (Rahul) played really well on that wicket. But I think it was obviously a very close game. I think we were lucky, it was even to the closer level. England just scored a few more runs in the third innings, which was probably easier than it was in the four innings,” he explained.
“But I think the first morning at Lord's, when it was doing a bit more, I thought England got through that period nicely. And I think to be 387 in the first innings there and in that situation, I think was a lot right.”
