Veteran England all-rounder Moeen Ali has announced his retirement from international cricket. The 37-year-old's decision came after he was overlooked for the white-ball series against Australia.
The star cricketer had already retired from Test cricket but continued representing England in the white-ball games. Moeen came out of his Test retirement for the Ashes last year, his last series in the Test circuit.
"I’ve played a lot of cricket for England. It just felt the time was right. I’ve done my part. Playing for England were the best days of my life," Moeen said in an exclusive interview with columnist Naseer Hussain for Mail Sport.
"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 added.
A glorious career for Moeen Ali
Moeen Ali last played for England in each of the white-ball formats in his team's last matches in the ODI World Cup 2023 against Pakistan and the T20 World Cup against India.
Moeen played 138 ODI matches in his glorious international career, scoring 2355 runs, including three centuries and six half-centuries, and picking 111 wickets. In T20I cricket, he played 92 matches and scored 1229 runs, bagging 51 wickets. He also represented England in 68 Test matches, 3094 runs and 204 wickets to his name. He became only the 16th player to score over 3000 runs and pick over 200 wickets in the game's longest format.
Moeen Ali also had the opportunity to lead England. He first captained England in a T20I match against Australia in 2020, becoming only the first Asian-origin cricketer to lead England in the shortest format.
Meanwhile, Moeen Ali will continue to play franchise cricket across the globe.