MOEEN BACKS VACCINE AFTER GETTING COVID
MOEEN ALI has set his sights on making a big contribution to England’s Test series in India after his comeback was delayed by Covid.
Ali took a break from Test cricket after being dropped during the 2019 Ashes series against Australia.
The all-rounder had hoped to feature in England’s Tests in Sri Lanka earlier this month, but Ali spent almost two weeks in isolation after testing positive for coronavirus on arrival in the country.
The 33-year-old, whose Test achievements include 181 wickets and nearly 3,000 runs, is currently with the rest of the squad in India. Players have now been allowed to practice after clearing quarantine ahead of Friday’s (5) first Test in Chennai.
“It has been tough but I’m a big believer in ‘after hardship comes ease’. Hopefully there is some ease after this,” Ali said.
“I feel good and I’ve been training normally for a while. When I got out for the first four or five days we had to be careful, because I think heartrate can be an issue after Covid for people who do a bit of running.
“I have no match practice or anything but I’ll train as hard as I can and try to be ready.”
Reflecting on his experience of Covid, he said: “I was not surprised because once I landed I didn’t feel great. I had loss of taste for a day or so, splitting headaches for three days. My body was very sore and I’ve never experienced that sort of tiredness before in my life.
“It was three days feeling pretty rough and the rest was fine. I didn’t want the cough and fever and thankfully I didn’t have that.”
Having had the virus himself, Ali is backing the UK’s vaccination programme at a time when there is a nervousness among some Muslim communities that the vaccine may be forbidden in Islamic law.
“Having spoken to people who know quite a bit about it, I’d take it and get my family and others to take it,” he said. “It’s like any vaccine, there’s a lot of conspiracy theories out there but it’s just medicine evolving.
“In our community, people are sometimes not sure whether to take something. But for things to get back to normal, it’s important that we do it.”