Moeen Ali Racial Abuse By Australia
Moeen Ali. Photo Credit: Getty Images.

England all-rounder Moeen Ali in a recent interview said that despite the emergence of Dom Bess and Jack Leach he will keep fighting for his place in the Test squad. The two youngsters have replaced Ali as England’s front line spin options, but the 32-year-old isn’t ready to surrender his place in the team just yet.

Ever since Ali was dropped from the Test squad after the first Ashes series last year, he has been on a break from Test cricket. In the meantime, England have played away Test series to New Zealand and South Africa.

The emergence of Dom and Jack has further cut down opportunities for Ali, but he is willing to fight for his place in the English side.

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Moeen Ali admits he missed playing for England:

Moeen Ali, England, South Africa
Moeen Ali, Image Courtesy: Getty

Speaking to Sky Sports after England’s final warm-up game in South Africa, Ali admitted that he missed playing for the national team during his time away from the sport.

He said, “I don’t want anyone to think I don’t love playing for England because playing for your country is the greatest thing a cricketer can do. Even in the warm-up games here, I was thinking ‘I have missed this’, which is exactly the feeling I want.”

During his sabbatical, Ali revealed he even thought about retiring from Test cricket, but Test captain Joe Root changed his mind, saying that the 32-year-old was still a big part of the team.

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Moeen Ali, England, South Africa
Moeen Ali (Credits: Getty)

He further added, “I know even if I decide to go to Sri Lanka I might not get in straight away but I am going to fight for my place. I thought (Dom) Bess bowled really well in South Africa but it was almost like, ‘yeah, I could to that, I can still do that’. The ECB has been really supportive of me. I want to come back a better player and be a part of the whole journey.”

England is currently in South Africa, preparing for the three-match ODI series after which they will play a T20 series with the same number of matches.

The reigning World Cup champs recently defeated the home side 3-1 in the Tests and will be hoping for similar results in ODI and T20Is as well.

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