Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) all-rounder Moeen Ali took an indirect dig at struggling Rohit Sharma after his flop show in the ongoing Indian Premier League 2025. India's ODI and Test captain, who is currently playing for Mumbai Indians (MI), has failed to perform in the cash-rich league.
After a half-century in the Champions Trophy final, Rohit scored 0, 8, 13 and 17 in his last four IPL outings. Despite his poor show in red ball cricket during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 in Australia, he made it clear that he plans to continue in ODIs and Tests. He will most likely lead India in the upcoming five-test match series against England.
Moeen, who has already announced his retirement from international cricket, believes that veterans, especially those at the other end of their 30s, should take stock of where they stand and what they offer to the team.
"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. Don't just hold on for the sake of holding on in a selfish way. Just be a bit more realistic and think, is it worth me holding on? Have I got more to give to the team? If the team wants to go in a new direction, I think you should allow that to happen," Moeen told The Indian Express.
"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. It doesn't mean they're better than you now, but they’re playing better than you. Then you should be a bit more realistic and honest with yourself."
Rohit Sharma will now be seen in action on April 13 as MI will take Delhi Capitals (DC) for the 29th match of the ongoing tournament, which will take place at Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi.