England’s all-rounder Moeen Ali has announced his retirement from international cricket. His decision came after being left out of England’s white-ball squad for the upcoming series against Australia.
Moeen Ali played his last game for England in the semi-final of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup against India on June 27 in Guyana. Aged 37, Moeen felt it was the right moment to step away from international cricket, which will make way for the other young players who will take charge of the team in the future.
While talkin to Daily Mail, Moeen Ali said,”I’m 37 years old and didn’t get picked for this month’s Australia series. I’ve played a lot of cricket for England. It’s time for the next generation, which was also explained to me. It felt the time was right. I’ve done my part, Moeen added, who made his international debut for England in 2014.”
Moeen Ali was a key player for England across all formats of cricket. He featured in 68 Tests, 138 ODIs, and 92 T20Is. Over his career, he accumulated 6,678 runs, including eight centuries and 28 half-centuries, and took 366 wickets.
“I’m very proud. When you first play for England, you don’t know how many games you’re going to play. So to play nearly 300 matches, my first few years were all about Test cricket. Once Morgs [Eoin Morgan] took over the one-day stuff, that was more fun. But Test cricket was the proper cricket.”
Moeen Ali made his debut for England ten years back, when Sri Lanka visited the European country.
“Even now, I’ve tried to be realistic. I could hold on and try to play for England again, but I know in reality I won’t. Even retiring, I don’t feel it’s because I’m not good enough — I still feel I can play. But I get how things are, and the team needs to evolve into another cycle. It’s about being real to myself.”
“People forget the impact you make in games. It might only have been 20 or 30, but it was a crucial 20 or 30. For me, it was about making an impact. I know what I brought to the side, on and off the field. As long as I felt people enjoyed watching me play, whether or not I did well, I was happy with that.”
However, Moeen Ali said that he will continue to play franchise cricket as he has a strong admiration and love for cricket.
“A bit of franchise cricket, because I still love playing. But coaching is something I want to do. I want to be one of the best. I can learn a lot from Baz [Brendon McCullum]. I hope people remember me as a free spirit. I played some nice shots and some bad shots, but hopefully people enjoyed watching me.”
