England has reached the semi-final after keeping their cool in the narrow win over Sri Lanka to eliminate the defending champions Australia from the tournament. But their triumph came at the cost of an injury to star batter Dawid Malan, who sustained a groin injury. Ace English all-rounder Moeen Ali has confirmed that the former no.1 T20I batter is unlikely to feature against India in their semi-final clash.
Jos Buttler’s England have looked scratchy in the tournament and will face a stern test from an Indian team, who are coming into the clash off a thumping win against Zimbabwe. Moeen Ali lamented the injury to Dawid Malan in the crunch game against Sri Lanka, as he has been one of their best batters in the format for several years.
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Although there has been no official announcement regarding Malan’s injury, Moeen Ali has opined that he was unlikely to feature against India. Malan’s injury will mean that the team management might look at Phil Salt, who has been warming the bench in the tournament so far.
During a chat with BBC, Moeen Ali said, “He has been one of our best players for a number of years. I don’t know but to be honest with you it is not looking great. He went for scans yesterday and when he arrived, we don’t really know much but it is not looking great.”
England was one of the favorites heading into the tournament but has not been able to perform at their usual high standards in Australia. Moeen felt that his team was the underdogs heading into the semi-final game against India, who have had a few concerns of their own in the competition.
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Elaborating the same, Moeen Ali said, “England are the underdogs because I think India have been playing fantastically well over the last few years. Even if you look at this competition, I think they have been playing really well, generally. I think we have been a little behind, but hopefully, we can pull it off.”
