Aakash Chopra has revealed that he was once publicly trolled by England’s Moeen Ali after offering technical criticism of the all-rounder during the 2016 India–England Test series. Speaking on Shubhankar Mishra’s YouTube channel, the former India opener recounted how a piece of analysis led to an unexpected online dig from Moeen shortly after the Chennai Test. Chopra explained that while working as an analyst for Cricinfo during the tour, he broke down what he believed was a recurring weakness in Moeen’s batting. “I said something about Moeen Ali’s problems against the short ball. I felt that the short ball should be used against him because he doesn’t have the defensive game for it, and you can create a trap by putting two fielders back. So, we made a demo showing why he can’t play the short ball,” he said.Also Watch:
However, the analysis coincided with Moeen scoring a century in the final Test in Chennai. Soon after, the England cricketer took to social media to mock Chopra by posting the Indian’s career statistics. “A fellow cricketer trolled me. If the fans are trolling you, you get used to it,” Chopra said. “He posted my stats. He was obviously upset. As he was a fellow cricketer, I replied to him that at least you don’t have a problem with my analysis. You have a problem with my stats, I agree, but you didn’t find a fault in my analysis because that’s my job now.” The exchange didn’t end on a sour note, though. Chopra shared that the very next morning, India implemented exactly the short-ball plan he had suggested. Ishant Sharma bowled bouncers with three men positioned in the deep, and Moeen fell to the trap after hitting one boundary. “I felt validated,” Chopra admitted, though he stressed he never confronted Moeen about it. What followed was an unexpected gesture from the England star. “He apologised afterwards. He said, ‘Sorry. I shouldn’t have reacted. What I said was wrong’,” Chopra revealed.
