Kashif Abdul Razzaq
During England’s victory at The Oval, coach Brendon McCullum approached Moeen Ali about potentially participating in the five-match series in India early in 2024. However, Moeen firmly declined the offer, saying, “That’s me done.” Moeen had retired from Test cricket in September 2021, but when Jack Leach suffered a stress fracture, he made himself available for the Ashes. England’s captain, Ben Stokes, sent him a text inquiring about his availability for the series, to which Moeen couldn’t resist the temptation and returned to play. Yet, after the conclusion of the fifth Test, he joked about deleting any future messages from Stokes.
Moeen playfully mentioned that the announcement of the venues for England’s India tour, none of which were in major cities, played a role in his decision to stay retired. He asserted that both Stokes and McCullum were aware that he had no intentions of extending his cricket career beyond this summer.
“They knew from the start,” Moeen chuckled. “Especially when those India venues came out! Baz asked me again when I had my day off on the second day. I said no. I’m not going [to India]. There’s no way I’m going. That’s me done. It’s nice to finish like this and be part of an amazing day.”