Worcestershire all-rounder Moeen Ali has been added to the England squad for the second Test against India.
Moeen, 34, last played Test cricket in February in the second match of the series against India at Chennai.
That was his first Test since the Ashes opener at Edgbaston in 2019.
Fellow all-rounders Ben Stokes and Chris Woakes are currently unavailable for England, who were outplayed for large periods as they drew last week’s series opener at Trent Bridge.
Moeen has represented England in limited-overs cricket this summer while being captain of Birmingham Phoenix in the Hundred, helping them to the top of the men’s table.
He made his 61st Test appearance in India earlier this year, returning match figures of 8-226 in the 317-run defeat while also scoring 49 runs.
The off-spinner then chose to miss England’s last two Tests of that series. After being recalled for the tour of Sri Lanka he contracted coronavirus in January and spent 14 days in isolation.
“He feels he wants to be at home with his family and we completely respect that,” England captain Joe Root said in February. “We want the players to be comfortable here.”
Chasing 209 to win the first Test against England last week, India were favourites on the final day and were 52-1 when rain forced the match to be abandoned as a draw.
England squad: Joe Root (capt), Moeen Ali, James Anderson, Jonny Bairstow (wk), Dom Bess, Stuart Broad, Rory Burns, Jos Buttler (wk), Zak Crawley, Sam Curran, Haseeb Hameed, Dan Lawrence, Jack Leach, Craig Overton, Ollie Pope, Ollie Robinson, Dom Sibley, Mark Wood.
Article courtesy of BBC Sport
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