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ENGLAND will be without Moeen Ali as they try and bounce back from their thrashing in the second Test against India after captain Joe Root revealed the all-rounder had opted out of the remainder of the series.

The 33-year-old made his Test comeback after 18 months in Chennai, taking eight wickets and making the tourists’ top score of the match with 43 in the fourth innings.

An ability to conjure special deliveries - most memorably when dismissing home captain Virat Kohli with a ripper on the first morning - and his six-hitting prowess provided some of the biggest positives from an otherwise dispiriting 317-run loss.

But while they move on to the day/ night Test in Ahmedabad with the series tied at 1-1, Moeen will head for home having taken up the rest period offered to all multi-format players this winter.

Ben Stokes, Jofra Archer, Jos Buttler, Jonny Bairstow, Mark Wood and Sam Curran have all been granted similar breaks during this run of six back-to-back Tests and Moeen has now taken the opportunity to leave the restrictive bubble environment.

His situation is unique among that group insofar as he tested positive for Covid-19 on arrival in Sri Lanka last month and has since been forced to spend a combined 20 days in hotel isolation due to quarantine requirements.

That he is due back for the Twenty20 series and also hopes to take part in the Indian Premier League only serves to further complicate the issue.

“Moeen has chosen to go home. It’s obviously been a very tricky tour for him,” Root said. “If players feel like they need to get out of the bubble, then that’s been an option.

“Hopefully he feels better for it. With Moeen it wasn’t about asking if he wanted to stay, it was a decision; he had chosen.”