Pakistani descent cricketer Moeen Ali has admitted that he had endured a steep learning curve in brief England career.
Ali, in his first season as an international cricketer, has been a key figure in the series with India. He has been pivotal in England wins at Southampton and Manchester against India transforming a 1-0 deficit into a 2-1 lead in the five-match series.
However, the practising Muslim also landed up in a controversy by wearing 'Save Gaza' and 'Free Palestine' wristbands in last month's win over India at Southampton and was ordered by the International Cricket Council (ICC) to remove them, saying that the bands breached their regulations about players making political statements, Sport24 reported.
Ali said that he did not think it would be such a big deal, and added that he just totally forgot he had the wristbands on when he went into bat. He said that it all came out obviously, but it did not bother him one bit.
However, Ali admitted that he has to be a lot more careful, adding that ICC didn't allow him to wear them and he accepted that. He said that he has a lot of opinions on a lot of stuff, but it's not the time and place now to go into it.
Ali said that he has got a lot of positive reaction and he would really like to say thanks to the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) for supporting him about it.
Ali said he was conscious of his position as a high-profile British Muslim and was keen to demonstrate to members of his community that they too could represent England. He said that the reason he likes to play for England is because he can break down barriers for other people and inspire kids, not just Asian kids but all kids, to play.
