'It's time for the next generation,' Moeen Ali retires from International cricket

Moeen Ali amassed 6678 runs across all three formats for the England cricket team.

England cricket team‘s veteran all-rounder Moeen Ali announced his retirement from international cricket after being overlooked for the upcoming home white-ball matches against Australia at home. His last international outing was during England’s semi-final loss to the Indian cricket team at the ICC T20 World Cup 2024 in Guyana.

The 37-year-old made his debut in both white-ball formats for England on their 2014 tour of the West Indies. He went on to play 138 ODIs and 92 T20Is in an 11-year-long international career.

The all-rounder made his test debut against Sri Lanka in 2014 at the iconic Lord’s. Moeen went on to play 68 test matches for England.

Overall, the 37-year-old all-rounder finished with 6678 runs, with eight centuries and 28 half-centuries, and snapped 366 wickets for England across all formats.

It’s time for the next generation: Moeen Ali

The all-rounder feels he’s still good enough to play international cricket but has accepted the selectors and management’s decision to not pick him in the squads to take on Australia.

“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 told Daily Mail in an interview.

“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. 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,” the 37-year-old said.

Will play franchise cricket: Moeen Ali

The 37-year-old confirmed he will continue playing franchise cricket and could later see himself getting involved in coaching roles as well. He is set for a maiden stint in the Caribbean Premier League this year.

“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.

“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,” Moeen concluded.

For more updates, follow Khel Now Cricket on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Youtube; download the Khel Now Android App or IOS App and join our community on Whatsapp & Telegram.