Moeen Ali opens up about Virat Kohli, Tymal Mills and IPL

England all-rounder Moeen Ali opened up about himself, his cricket and some of his teammates in an exclusive interview with Sky Sports. A handy off-spinner, Ali has been consistent with the bat for England in all formats of the game. As he’s had some time off following a tough India tour and a series against the West Indies, Ali candidly answered some questions about himself.

With several Englishman cashing in on the IPL this year, many would have wondered why Moeen Ali didn’t feature in the auction. However, Ali shared that for the previous seasons, he wasn’t available, and this time around, he fancied taking a break. Ali said that he went on a pilgrimage with his family instead of taking part in the extravagant tournament.

Moeen Ali would have surely liked to play in the subcontinent as he finds India a great place to play cricket. However, he did confess that the wickets in India are tricky to bat on. Ali wasn’t able to deliver much with the bat in the shorter format of the game in the series against India. In 6 matches, which included 3 ODIs and 3 T20s, Ali scored only 89 runs.

When asked about his teammate Tymal Mills, who was bought for big money by the Royal Challengers Bangalore, he said, “He has obviously got a lot of pace, and in the nets in particular he is very dangerous as he loves a beamer! I’ve faced a couple of them. But he is a very good bowler, and he is only going to get better playing in the IPL.”

Mills will be filling in the shoes of Aussie quick Mitchell Starc, who had parted ways with RCB as he wanted to focus on Test cricket. Starc happens to be one of Ali’s current favourites, as the Englishman considers him the best T20 bowler at the death. His ability to bowl to left-handers and right-handers alike, from both sides of the wicket, makes him a lethal bowler. “He has a great yorker and can reverse-swing it,” Ali added.

When it comes to a batsman, Ali looks up to South Africa’s AB de Villiers. “He is so difficult to set fields to as he can hit everywhere. He’s a very smart cricketer too, he doesn’t just go out there and slog it, he plays proper shots,” Ali said about the Proteas legend.

Ali was all praises for Virat Kohli as well, and particularly lauded his ability to play spin. He confessed that he, along with Adil Rashid, found it rather difficult to bowl to Kohli as he has can easily grind spinners down.

Graeme Hick also made it to Ali’s list of favourites, this time, as a player he’s played with who’s not in the England team. “I played a lot with him at Worcestershire during his last couple of seasons. He was brilliant to watch, even if it was towards the end of his career,” Ali shared about Hick.

As England are chalking out plans for a brand new T20 tournament, Sky Sports had an opportunity to sneak in a question to Moeen Ali. The all-rounder was pleased with the initiative and found it a fantastic idea. “Imagine playing with guys like Virat Kohli and Chris Gayle, those explosive kinds of players. Plus, it will be great for the crowds and getting the youngsters coming in to watch cricket,” Ali shared.

Ali also gave a glimpse of the lighter side of the England team. Although great cricketers, some of them aren’t as gifted in football Ali explained. He was certain that former skipper Alastair Cook was the worst of the lot, followed by Stuart Broad and Alex Hales. “He hides in defence,” Ali said laughingly about the big-hitting opener. “Liam Dawson gives it all the talk but is terrible,” Ali added.

Moeen Ali also had indirect advice to his spin twin Adil Rashid. When asked ‘If you were on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, who is the last person in the England team you’d chose as your phone a friend?’ Ali responded by saying Rashid would be one of them.

“I tricked Rash once – I said ‘what’s a tangerine?’, knowing he didn’t have a clue. He started jumping up and down, he thought it was a trampoline. I won’t be phoning him!” Ali concluded.