Former England's Test cricketer Mike Gatting said he was surprised to hear about Moeen Ali's return to Test cricket after almost two years.
Speaking to media at a local event in Bangkok, Gatting said he coulnd't understand the decision taken by Moeen who replaced injured Jack Leach for the upcoming Ashes later this month.
"When I heard it I couldn't quite understand it, because obviously Moeen doesn't want to play Test cricket and I don't understand why he wants to come back for this," said the great England cricketer.
Gatting thinks Rehan Ahmed could've been a better option than Moeen who has played 64 Tests for England, taking 195 wickets and scoring 2,914 runs.
"You've got a guy called Rehan Ahmed who got five-for in his debut Test against a good Pakistan team and he's been doing reasonably well in T20. I suppose they´ve really gone for the real safe option," he added.
In December last year, Rehan, at 18, made his Test debut against Pakistan in Karachi. He took five wickets to announce his arrival in style.
It must be noted here that England skipper Ben Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum insisted Moeen to comeback to Test cricket after Leach was ruled out following a stress fracture in his back.
"He hasn't played much Test cricket and it's very difficult to get back into Test cricket when you've been out of it for so long," concluded Gatting.
England will host this year's Ashes, starting on June 16 in Edgbaston.