England all-rounder Moeen Ali has announced his retirement from all forms of international cricket.
The 37-year-old’s glittering decade-long international career ends with him having played 68 Tests, 138 ODIs and 92 T20Is.
Having featured for England at the T20 World Cup earlier this summer, Moeen was left out of the squad for the side’s upcoming series against Australia, which begins on Wednesday.
“I’m 37 years old and didn’t get picked for this month’s Australia series,” Moeen told the Daily Mail. “I’ve played a lot of cricket for England. It’s time for the next generation, which was also explained to me. It felt the time was right. I’ve done my part.”
Matthew Mott was sacked as head coach of the limited-overs side last month after disappointing title defences in the ODI and T20 World Cups and the appetite for change continued with the removal of Moeen and Jonny Bairstow – two senior men sharing over 400 caps.
Moeen, who became the first British Asian to captain England in a T20I when he led the side against Australia in 2020, has been an influential vice-captain to Jos Buttler in recent times but has acknowledged in the past that his international career was winding down.
“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 the proper cricket.
“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 get how things are, and the team needs to evolve into another cycle. It’s about being real to myself.”
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Moeen Ali’s short but excellent cameo comes to an end after hitting two sixes and a four.
Moeen previously retired from Test cricket in September 2021 before agreeing to make a comeback for England’s home 2023 Ashes series.
After making his final appearance in England’s T20 World Cup semi-final defeat to India in June, Moeen finishes his career with 6678 runs, eight centuries, 28 fifties and 366 wickets across all formats.
“People forget the impact you make in games. It might only have been 20 or 30, but it was a crucial 20 or 30,” Moeen said.
“For me, it was about making an impact. I know what I brought to the side, on and off the field. As long as I felt people enjoyed watching me play, whether or not I did well, I was happy with that.”
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Moeen Ali took an excellent diving catch to secure England team-mate Sam Curran his 50th T20 international wicket in the resounding win over USA.
Looking ahead, Moeen said he wants to continue playing franchise cricket, but ultimately hopes to delve into coaching.
James Anderson went straight into a coaching role with England after his international career ended earlier this summer, and it would be little surprise to see Moeen given a similar opportunity by Brendon McCullum, who has just taken charge of the nation’s limited overs sides in addition to his role as Test boss.
“Coaching is something I want to do – I want to be one of the best,” Moeen added. “I can learn a lot from (McCullum).”
Watch day three of the third and final Test between England and Sri Lanka, from The Kia Oval, live on Sky Sports Cricket and Sky Sports Main Event from 10.15am on Sunday (11am first ball).
