Friends become enemies: Kohli wary of Moeen

Virat Kohli says his friend Moeen Ali could be a real threat to his India side during the second Test at Lord's.

Kohli knows Moeen well from their time together at the Royal Challengers Bangalore and is well versed in the problems he could cause as a finger spinner and destructive lower-order hitter.

Moeen, 34, played a key role in England's home series wins in 2014 and 2018 but has been used as a white-ball specialist for most of the past two years and was only recalled to the squad after last week's draw at Trent Bridge.

His only Test appearance since the 2019 Ashes came in Chennai six months ago, when he dismissed Kohli in each innings on his way to an eight-wicket haul and hit five sixes in a fearless 43.

"He's a good friend of mine, we've got to know each other very well over the years. He's a great guy," said Kohli.

"We are wary of his skills. He's obviously a very talented cricketer, brings consistency with the ball and as a middle-order or lower-order batsman. Especially in Test cricket, he can change the momentum of the game with the bat.

"He's in great form right now, he's batting really well and with the ball he is always someone that the team has banked on, so we will have to be at our best going up against Moeen.

"Whenever we take the field, with skills we compete but it's always mutual respect and a really nice environment when he's playing on the field. Whether it's with or against, he's always been a pleasure to share the field with."

England captain Joe Root is confident Moeen can once again be a Test match-winner despite spending most of the last two years out of the Test side.

"He's certainly a big contender to play. He's been called up to the squad for his capability with both bat and ball," said Root.

"The message is: just to go out there and be Moeen Ali. 

"He has the ability to go out there and win games with bat and ball, he's proven that.

"He plays his best cricket when he is enjoying it and he's full of confidence - it certainly looks that way at the moment, the way he has taken to The Hundred.

"With the way has led Birmingham Phoenix (in The Hundred), I would happily give him a huge amount of responsibility if he does play because he responds extremely well to that."

Moeen has not played a first-class game since his previous Test appearance in February and has played just three red-ball games since he was dropped at the start of the Ashes two years ago.

England XI (possible): Rory Burns, Dom Sibley, Zak Crawley/Haseeb Hameed, Joe Root (c), Jonny Bairstow, Jos Buttler (wk), Moeen Ali, Sam Curran, Ollie Robinson, Mark Wood, Jimmy Anderson/Craig Overton/Saqib Mahmood

India XI (possible): Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli (c), Ajinkya Rahane, Rishabh Pant (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin/Ishant Sharma, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj