Star England all-rounder Moeen Ali has revealed that he is contemplating retirement from ODI cricket after the World Cup in India later in the year. Moeen has played pivotal in England's rise in white-ball cricket and was part of the ODI World Cup-winning team in 2019 and the T20 World Cup-winning team in 2023. The stylish all-rounder, who is 35 years old, said that as he is growing old, it is becoming increasingly challenging for him to field for a longer period of time.
"I don’t set a lot of goals, but I want to play that World Cup, be a part of that World Cup and hopefully win that World Cup and then we’ll see," he told talkSPORT 2.
“I’m not saying I will retire or I’m not saying I won’t retire. Another seven or eight months at 35 is a lot. It could be a time where I’m thinking that’s me done now and I might look at Livingstone and Jacksy and think ‘you know what, my time is up, I’d rather these guys get ready for the next World Cup.
“I haven’t decided but I have sort of an idea of what I want to try and do. It genuinely makes me really happy when I see players coming in - whatever’s best for us and the side and going to make us champions, that’s more important and that’s the bigger picture really," he added.
Moeen, who made his ODI debut for England in 2014, has played 129 ODIs for the Three Lions, scoring 2,212 runs in the process. The left-handed elegant batter has scored six fifties and three centuries for England while his runs in ODI cricket have come at an excellent strike rate of 99.50. The right-arm off-spinner has also bagged 99 wickets in ODIs at an economy rate of 5.28.
Moving forward, Moeen wants to play more T20 cricket as he thinks that is 'logical'.
"I think it’s something that’s more logical and just makes more sense. If I’m playing well and playing all the franchise cricket - and playing for England - I don’t see why not. Fifty overs does get harder the older you get, it’s not easy to field and for sure it makes sense that I’ll do that," Moeen said.
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