Chris Silverwood clarifies Moeen Ali departure: "The decision for him to go home was ours"

Silverwood also insisted that Moeen’s departure, a single Test after he had replaced Dom Bess as England’s second spinner alongside Jack Leach, did not expose flaws in the rotation policy adopted to deal with a taxing schedule

England head coach Chris Silverwood has clarified the circumstances around Moeen Ali’s departure from India for his pre-arranged rest period, confirming that “the decision for him to go home was ours”.

Confusion had been caused in the aftermath of England’s defeat in the second Test in Chennai on Tuesday after captain Joe Root said in a post-match press conference that the off-spinning allrounder had “chosen” to leave the tour.

Root has since apologised to Moeen for his choice of words, which led to significant debate across social media.

In reality, Moeen was always due to the miss the third and fourth Tests as part of England’s rotation policy, which has already seen Jofra Archer, Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler, Jonny Bairstow, Sam Curran and Mark Wood withdrawn from squads since Christmas in order to break up the time they would otherwise spend in bio-secure bubbles during a busy 2021.

Silverwood began his press conference by explaining the situation: “First of all, we’re sorry that the impression we gave yesterday was that Mo is being treated differently to other people. He isn’t. I can guarantee you that. The decision for him to go home was ours – as it was with Buttler, Sam, Bairstow and Wood, to be honest. We’re happy to own that decision.”

He added that the question had been put to Moeen about whether he wanted to delay his break, given the “unique situation” of his winter, which saw him spend the majority of England’s series victory in Sri Lanka in isolation after testing positive for Covid-19 on arrival in the country.

“The question was posed to him,” Silverwood acknowledged. “We try and work as closely as we can with our players to make sure they get the best opportunities as well as looking after them. He was asked but ultimately, we felt that it was the right decision for him to go home.

“We touched base with Mo last night, as did Joe. He was fine. He understands that we’ve got his best interests at heart and we’re trying to look after him just as we do all the other players. These are strange times we’re in.”

^{Chris Silverwood and Joe Root both apologised to Moeen Ali for the communication around his departure}

Silverwood also insisted that Moeen’s departure, a single Test after he had replaced Dom Bess as England’s second spinner alongside Jack Leach, did not expose flaws in the rotation policy adopted by chief selector Ed Smith.

“I think it’s the life we’re living at the moment,” he said. “We have to prioritise looking after our players and we’re doing the best we can to make that happen. Being locked in a bubble for long periods of time like we are is difficult, especially for people who’ve got families at home.

“We have to be respectful that people need to see their families and, equally, their families need to see them as well.”

As for Bess, Silverwood added: “He’s in a really good place. We know Bessy offers us a lot – not just with the ball, but in the field, with bat in hand and what he brings to us in the dressing room as well.

“He’s a proper team man, so I think given the opportunity, I’m sure he will jump at it again. I know that he will turn up and give it everything he’s got, which is all I can ask of the players, to be honest.”

Moeen has been named in England’s squad for the T20I series that follows the Tests, with Eoin Morgan’s charges at full strength ahead of the T20 World Cup later this year.

That discrepancy placed against England’s Test rotation has been taken in some quarters to suggest that the national side are prioritising T20 cricket over the game’s longest format – a suggestion enhanced by reports that players involved in the Indian Premier League’s latter stages could miss some of England’s June Test series against New Zealand.

However, Silverwood reaffirmed his commitment to the five-day game, stating: “I can guarantee, we’re not prioritising anything above Test cricket.

“We prioritise Tests and T20s equally, to be honest. We know we’ve got a great opportunity to have a bit of a dry run with the T20 World Cup being in India. But equally, we’ve got to respect that to get people to the T20 World Cup, to the Ashes fresh, making sure that we keep everybody on top form, we have to rotate people, we have to look after them. Unfortunately, these are the worlds we’re living in.”

He explained that the brevity of the T20I series made it impossible to give players adequate rest time through that leg of the tour. Indeed, the five-match series spans just eight days – only a single day longer than the period of time between the second and third Tests.

“The length of time that we’re here for the Test series compared to the length of a T20 series is chalk and cheese,” Silverwood said. “We understand that to play four Tests over here in this bubble, we have to rotate people. It’s why we’re working so hard to make sure that actually we’re building a big group of players that we can work with and that, at any given point, any of them can play.

“It’s giving opportunity, we understand that we have to do it and equally it’s building towards the Ashes. We want to make sure that when we arrive at the Ashes, we’ve got a fit, healthy group of players that are all capable of performing in those conditions.”

He also defended the will of England’s white-ball stars to take part in the IPL in the midst of a year that will see the Test side play 17 times.

“I don’t think it’s an issue,” he added. “These guys are playing a fantastic, high-level class of T20 cricket, which can only benefit us really moving forward. It benefits the player, but we reap the benefits when they come back and play T20 for England. Players make their own minds up around the competitions that they go in, but we reap the benefits from them playing in the IPL.

“I think it is very difficult to say: ‘No, you can’t play the IPL.’ You certainly can’t say no to one and yes to another, so if they’re playing they’re playing. But we reap the rewards when they come back, having played in one of the marquee in the T20 cricket world.”