MOEEN TARGET
England allrounder Ali looks to get Test career back on track
England all-rounder Moeen Ali has fond memories of the 2016 Test series in India. Moeen had started and ended the series with centuries even though England didn’t have much to cheer about, having lost 0-4.
Back in Chennai where he scored his last Test ton, Moeen is now looking to get his red-ball career back on track. England coach Chris Silverwood has hinted that Moeen is in contention to play the Chennai Test.
This would be his first Test since he was dropped during the 2019 Ashes.
“I enjoyed the break and played in a few leagues around the world. But ultimately it is Test cricket that I missed. I’ve waited long enough,” said Moeen.
Nineteen wickets short of joining the 200-wicket club, Moeen has set his sights on completing the milestone in India.
“That is my biggest motivation. I still feel I’ve got wickets and runs in me and match-winning performances within me. I have small targets I want to achieve first. I am not too far away from getting 200 wickets. I know people say they don’t look at these things but it would be something I would look at. Then I would set another target after that,” said Moeen.
Moeen was part of the England squad that toured Sri Lanka recently, but the 33-year-old spent most of his time in isolation after testing Covid-19 positive.
Moeen said he is fit and raring to go now.
“Once I tested positive, I just wanted to get it over and done with really. It has been tough but I’m a big believer in ‘after hardship comes ease’. Hopefully there is ease after this,” said Moeen.
The off-spinner who took 10 wickets, including that of Virat Kohli, during the 2016 series knows the importance of removing the Indian skipper early.
“How do we get him out? He’s obviously an amazing player, worldclass, he’s very motivated to do well and I’m sure he’ll be even more motivated after they did well in Australia and he had to leave for the birth of his child,” said Moeen.
Moeen and Kohli are teammates at Royal Challengers Bangalore. “He’s a great guy and a good friend of mine — we don’t talk too much about cricket. I don’t know how we’re going to get him out because I don’t think he has any sort of weakness but we have a good bowling attack, some pace in the line-up,” he added.