'The door is open’ – Moeen Ali on his potential Test return under Brendon McCullum

Following an invitation from England’s new head coach of the Test format, Brendon McCullum, all-rounder Moeen Ali believes that the ‘door is open’ for him to make a return to the side and play in the whites. After 64 matches for England, Moeen, 34, announced his retirement from the red-ball game, last year.

During the time of his retirement, he had revealed that the pressure had increased and he could not take it further. Thus, he felt like he was ‘done’ with it. McCullum and Moeen have played together in the Indian Premier League for the Royal Challengers Bangalore and so the New Zealander believes he can persuade the all-rounder to return to the mix. Moeen said he was open to the potential of a comeback after obtaining an OBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours.

“Baz (McCullum) messaged me asking if I was ‘in’. We’ve had a chat and maybe in the future, potential tours or whatever, who knows? I have played with him in the Indian Premier League and really enjoyed the way he works. We spoke and he mentioned potentially, in the future, if there is a tour – or whenever, really – would I be available? I said ‘Call me at the time’. We’ll see – if and when he calls me, we’ll chat,” Moeen Ali was quoted by Planet Sport.

“The door is open. It’s always exciting when there is a new chapter and you would like to be a part of it. We had the same after the 2015 World Cup – what role you can play? In the white-ball stuff, it didn’t matter who was in the team or for how long, it was just making a difference for England. We’ll see,” he added.

When I retired I just found it hard to get going: Moeen Ali

Notably, the news of Ali’s departure from the Test format had sparked rumours about his rift with the then skipper Joe Root. It was also being said that Moeen had decided to withdraw from Test cricket because he was dissatisfied with Root’s captaincy. He, however, has debunked the rumours, claiming that they are totally inaccurate.

“I saw stuff about me not enjoying it under Rooty, but I did. He was always good to me. As an individual, he’s the best I have had. He’s a friend of mine and a great guy. When I retired I just found it hard to get going. I had a few niggles, I was tired, I wasn’t enjoying cricket as much as I should,” he concluded.

Meanwhile, England is all set to host New Zealand for a three-match Test series starting June 2, 2022 with the first Test scheduled at The Home of Cricket – The Lord’s.