Moeen Ali retires from international cricket

The 37-year-old English all-rounder Moeen Ali announced his retirement from international cricket. 

Moeen Ali last served for the English team during the recently concluded ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 in the West Indies and the United States. Defending champions England reached the semi-finals of that tournament, where India beat them by 68 runs. 

Moeen made his international cricket debut in 2014. In that same year, he played for England in all three international cricket formats.  

Moeen was a key member of the English team during winning the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 and ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2022 trophies. 

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Moeen Ali retired from Test cricket after the Ashes 2023

Although Moeen initially retired from Test cricket in September 2021, he came out of retirement for the Ashes 2023 after injured Jack Leach was ruled out from the home series. After Ashes 2023, he retired from Test cricket.  

Australia are set to play a three-match T20I series and five-match ODI series against the hosts England, starting on September 11. As Moeen wasn’t selected in both the English white-ball teams, he decided to announce his international retirement. He last played an ODI against Pakistan during the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup 2023.

Moeen said in a Daily Mail interview, "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 played 68 Tests, 138 ODIs, and 92 T20Is. The left-handed batter scored 3094 Test runs, 2355 ODI runs, and 1229 T20I runs. Meanwhile, the off-spinner picked up 204 Test wickets, 111 ODI wickets, and 51 T20I wickets. 

Moeen was the 16th Test player to achieve 3000 Test runs and 200 Test wickets. 

Moeen Ali led the English team in 13 white-ball matches

Moeen was the vice-captain of England limited-overs teams. From 2020 to 2023, he led the English team in 13 international matches – one ODI and 12 T20Is. As an English captain, he won five T20Is. 

The English all-rounder Moeen Ali is proud of his achievements, who played 298 international matches for England. 

Moeen added, "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.”

Although Moeen is still confident about his game, he also understands the national team’s present requirements. 

Moeen said, "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."

Talking about the most important thing in his cricket career, Moeen pointed out how to make an impact.

Moeen claimed, "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."

Moeen Ali's next targets

Moeen is still enjoying cricket as he wants to continue franchise cricket. Apart from participating in the T20 Blast and the Hundred, the English all-rounder also played in the IPL, BPL, PSL, SA20, Mzansi Super League, and International League T20.

Moeen is now experiencing the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) for the first time. He just joined the defending champions Guyana Amazon Warriors as a replacement player.

While he wants to continue his franchise, Moeen also wants to be a great coach. 

Moeen added, "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."

Talking about his greatest moments in international career, Moeen pointed out winning the Ashes and two World Cups. However, in the individual point of view, he pointed out his match-winning Test hat-trick against South Africa at The Oval in 2017 and fastest T20I half-century by an English batter (16-ball fifty against South Africa at Bristol in 2022).