T20 World Cup 2021: "It's beyond my understanding" - Aakash Chopra on Eoin Morgan not bowling Moeen Ali

Aakash Chopra has criticized Eoin Morgan for not bowling Moeen Ali in England's T20 World Cup 2021 semi-final defeat against New Zealand.

England's bowlers failed to defend a 166-run total as the 2016 finalists were knocked out of the tournament. Morgan used just five bowlers in the encounter and didn't introduce Moeen Ali into the attack.

While reflecting on England's bowling performance in a video shared on his YouTube channel, Aakash Chopra was surprised that the off-spinner was not given a bowl. He elaborated:

"England's bowling got slightly exposed, I thought the captaincy was slightly poor because not getting Moeen Ali to bowl, it's beyond my understanding. Where was Moeen Ali? When Liam Livingstone gives only 22 runs in his four overs and takes two wickets, why does Moeen not bowl?"

The cricketer-turned-commentator highlighted that Moeen Ali could have been effective against the Kiwi southpaws. Chopra explained:

"Captain Morgan did all the front loading. He was finishing the overs of Woakes, Jordan and Mark Wood quickly and was not bringing Moeen Ali at all. I still can't figure out why Moeen Ali was not bowling. He didn't bowl in the last match as well. He should have bowled, there were lefties in the middle."

Moeen Ali was used with the new ball in some of England's league stage matches. However, with the pitch assisting the seamers, Morgan opted to bowl Chris Woakes and Chris Jordan for the first five overs of the New Zealand innings.

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"I thought it was a faux pas" - Aakash Chopra on Moeen Ali not bowling

Moeen Ali picked up seven wickets in the league phase

Aakash Chopra added that Eoin Morgan's decision not to use Moeen Ali minimized the resources at his disposal. He reasoned:

"This is a big ground, not a small one. I thought it was a faux pas. You just tied your hands. You are going with just five bowlers and if one of them has a bad day or bowls a bad over, you are not really giving yourself a chance. All five bowlers were made to bowl four overs apiece, Chris Jordan couldn't bowl his fourth because the match didn't go till there."

The 44-year-old concluded by stating that Moeen Ali might have just continued with the good work he had done earlier with the bat. Chopra observed:

"It is possible he [Moeen] might also have got hit but you could have tried at least. Probably he might not have got hit, it was probably his day, he scored 51 runs and it is possible he might have bowled well also."

Ali top-scored for England with an unbeaten 51 after they were asked to bat first. His knock helped the Morgan-led side reach a competitive score, which their bowlers failed to defend.