England all-rounder Moeen Ali announced his retirement from international cricket on Sunday after not being selected for the Three Lions' white-ball series against Australia this month.
The 37-year-old said in an interview that it is time for him to step aside and give the next generation a chance.
"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 like the right time. I've done my part," Moeen said in an interview.
Making his debut for the England cricket team in 2014, Moeen Ali went on to represent England in 68 Tests,138 ODIs, and 92 T20Is over the years. During his 10-year career, he scored 6,678 runs, including 8 centuries, 28 half-centuries, and took 366 wickets for the Three Lions.
Moeen Ali overall career for England cricket team | ||||||||||||||
Format | Span | Matches | Inns | NO | Runs | HS | Avg | BF | SR | 100s | 50s | 0s | 4s | 6s |
Test Matches | 2014-2023 | 68 | 118 | 8 | 3094 | 155* | 28.12 | 5973 | 51.79 | 5 | 15 | 15 | 375 | 34 |
One-Day Internationals | 2014-2023 | 138 | 112 | 15 | 2355 | 128 | 24.27 | 2399 | 98.16 | 3 | 6 | 6 | 203 | 78 |
Twenty20 Internationals | 2014-2024 | 92 | 75 | 17 | 1229 | 72* | 21.18 | 863 | 142.41 | 0 | 7 | 9 | 88 | 68 |
"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," Moeen added.
"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 understand how things are, and the team needs to evolve into another cycle. It's about being real with myself," he further added.
"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 understand how things are, and the team needs to evolve into another cycle. It's about being real with myself," he further added.