Moeen Ali and Alastair Cook were involved in a debate on BT Sport that turned awkward towards the end with the all-rounder criticizing Cook's captaincy while trying to shed light into current England skipper Joe Root's leadership skills. Moeen, who announced his retirement from Test cricket last year, was highlighting the qualities of Root during the fourth Ashes Test between England and Australia. The discussion, which started like a banter with both Moeen and Cook sharing a laugh, got a bit serious towards the end when the former stood firm on his stance about the different leadership styles of Root and Cook.
In a video doing the rounds on social media, Moeen was seen stating that Root had more "emotional attachments" with the players.
"Cooky would never give me throw downs. Rooty has a bit more of, I would say, an emotional attachment with the players. He probably spends a bit more time with the players," Moeen said referring to the current England captain Root giving throwdowns to his teammates in Sydney.
Cook initially took Ali's comments in jest and responded: "Are you just criticizing my captaincy?"
"I am a little bit, yeah," replied Moeen.
The England all-rounder then continued to highlight the difference between Cook and Root's captaincy styles and added that he had more success as a batter under the former left-hander but he had to bat at different positions, which wasn't the case under Root.
Watch: Alastair Cook, Moeen Ali Debate Captaincy Styles
Here's how the conversation unfolded
Moeen: "They're both very different. I did do better with the bat under Cooky but with the ball I was better with Rooty."
Cook: "I was going to say, I never dropped Mo. So you might criticize me, but I never dropped you. How many times did Rooty drop you?"
Moeen: "That's true, but he (Cook) also batted me from one to nine in my first year of international cricket."
Cook: "I was giving him a chance. I couldn't work out whether he was a tailender or an opening batsman, so I tried to find the perfect role for him."
Moeen: "To go back to my point, Rooty was a little bit more involved with the players, in my opinion. Not that Cooky didn't care, but I think Rooty is a bit more arm-over-the-shoulder kind of guy."
Cook: "I'm not sure how to take this anymore. I've just come back from a nice holiday and I've walked straight into Moeen Ali off his long run."