Moeen Ali decided to retire: All-rounder Moeen Ali, playing for Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in IPL 2021, has decided to retire from Test cricket. He will no longer play red ball cricket for England. He will make a formal announcement soon. Moeen has recently informed England’s Test captain Joe Root, coach Chris Silverwood and selectors about his decision. Moin has taken this step with the intention of focusing on limited overs cricket. 34-year-old Moeen has played 64 Tests for England.
According to ESPN Cricinfo, Moeen is a possible member of the England squad to play the T20 World Cup and Ashes series in the coming months. In such a situation, he had to stay away from home for a long time, about which he is uncomfortable. For this reason, he has decided to retire from the long format of cricket. However, he is keen to play for England in limited overs cricket and wants to continue playing franchise cricket in addition to county cricket. He has not yet taken any concrete decision on whether he will continue to play first-class cricket or not.
Moeen scored 5 centuries in Tests
He has had a stellar career as a Test cricketer for England. He has taken 2000 Test runs and 100 wickets in fewer matches than England’s legendary all-rounder Ian Botham, Imran Khan and Gary Sobers. He has 195 wickets in 64 Tests and ranks 16th in the list of highest wicket-takers for England. In his Test career, he has also been the third best all-rounder in the world.
His performance with the ball as well as with the bat has been excellent. His 5 centuries in Test cricket are proof of this. Out of this, he had planted 4 in 2016. He has so far taken 195 wickets in 64 Tests with 2914 runs. He has also scored 14 half-centuries in Tests. He has taken five wickets in Tests once 10 and 5 times.
Moeen Ali’s strike rate is better than Jim Laker’s
Moeen Ali has given memorable performances many times in his Test career. One of this was done against South Africa in 2017. Then he took 25 wickets in 4 Tests. At the same time, in 2018-19, this off-spinner also took 32 wickets in 6 Tests against Sri Lanka and West Indies. Let us tell you that out of the spinners of England, only Derek Underwood and Graeme Swann have finished their careers by taking more wickets than them. Even Jim Laker, who took all 10 wickets in an innings, could not match Moeen’s strike rate of 60.70.