Photo Credit: BCCI
Super King and England Cricketer Moeen Ali announced his retirement from International cricket today at the age of 37.
“I’m 37 years old and didn’t get picked for this month’s Australia series,” the all-rounder confirmed his retirement while interacting with Daily Mail.
“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,” he continued.
The 37-year-old made his international debut in 2014 and has played 68 Tests, 138 ODIs, and 92 T20Is as an allrounder. He has accumulated 6678 runs, including eight centuries and 28 fifties, and took 366 wickets for England. His final appearance was in the T20 World Cup semi-final loss to India in Guyana.
“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 the proper cricket.”
“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 expressed.
“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 mentioned.
Although he has taken a call on his international cricket, Moeen will continue to play franchise cricket and is hopeful to get involved in coaching.
“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 remarked.
Moeen has been a vital cog for Chennai Super Kings from IPL 2021. He has scored 853 runs in 40 innings including three fifties at a strike rate of 136.26 and picked up 25 wickets with a best bowling figure of 4/26 against Lucknow Super Giants in IPL 2023.
He has been part of two IPL winning squads in 2021 and 2023.
Moeen joined Joburg Super Kings in SA20 league in 2024.
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The Chennai Super Kings (CSK) are a professional cricket franchise based in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, competing in the Indian Premier League (IPL). Founded in 2008 as one of the league’s original franchises, CSK plays its home matches at the M. A. Chidambaram Stadium and is owned by Chennai Super Kings Cricket.
