England’s ODI and T20 World Cup-winning all-rounder, Moeen Ali has announced his retirement from international cricket. The 37-year-old decided to call time on his career after being not being picked for the upcoming white-ball series against Australia.
Ali believes that it is the right time for the next generation of England stars to take over and remains content with his contributions to the England national team.
“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,” the all-rounder said to The Daily Mail as quoted by Cricbuzz
The 37-year-old made his debut for the national team against the West Indies in the ODI that took place in February 2014 and has gone on to represent England in a total of 298 international matches across all three formats of the game.
“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… 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 proper cricket,” he commented.
The veteran believes that he still has what it takes to play in the international level but feels that it is time to move forward and let the younger players take over instead.
“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,” he shared.
READ MORE: Rahul Dravid Said No to Other IPL High-Profile Franchises Despite ‘Virtually Willing to Hand him Blank Cheques’
“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,” he added.
As for Ali’s plans going forward, the all-rounder still plans on playing franchise cricket across the globe. He is part of the five-time Indian Premier League-winning side, Chennai Super Kings among many other franchises in various other leagues. Along with that he also hopes to follow the footsteps of the current national team coach, Brendon McCullum and get into the coaching side of things as well.
READ MORE: ‘So This is Where the IPL is Won’: Rahul Dravid Signals Winning Intentions as New Rajasthan Royals Head Coach- WATCH
“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,” he concluded.
Comments
0 comment