Former England all-rounder Moeen Ali, who is currently plying his trade with the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL 2025), made a bold statement pertaining to ageing cricketers. He made an interesting distinction between retiring from international cricket and T20 leagues like the IPL.
Moeen feels that playing for a country requires ‘hard self-reflection’ as compared to playing in franchise cricket.
Indian stalwarts like Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma are in their last leg of international cricket and omitting such heavyweight names becomes extremely difficult for national selectors even when they have a dip in form.
Echoing on the same lines, the 37-year-old opined that cricketers towards the end of their international career should voluntarily take a retirement call and make way for young talents rather than pushing limits.
Speaking to Indian Express, Ali said, “I definitely think you shouldn’t just hold on because you’re a big name or you have a massive following. And it should never be your own personal goals.”
He added, “If you’re not performing and you’re at that age where you’re a bit older and there’s younger players coming through and they’re probably playing better than you right now.”
To further prove his point on the IPL vs country debate, Moeen brought up the issue of MS Dhoni’s retirement stating that a player can be utilised in specific roles due available option of a vast ‘talent pool’.
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For the unversed, Moeen Ali had announced his international retirement last year in September. He enjoyed an illustrious career playing for the Three Lions, where he has won the Ashes, ODI World Cup and the T20I World Cup.
Apart from his international success, he has been part of two IPL-winning teams (KKR and CSK). Moeen Ali currently plays in T20 leagues across the globe and also harbours plans of becoming a coach in the future.
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