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Moeen Ali and Adil Rashid decline offer to represent England again in Test cricket - Reports

In June this year, Moeen Ali expressed his desire to play Test cricket for England once again. In an interview

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Moeen Ali, Adil Rashid

Moeen Ali, Adil Rashid (Image Credit: Twitter)

In June this year, Moeen Ali expressed his desire to play Test cricket for England once again. In an interview, he said that whenever Bendon McCullum asks him to play, he is ready. The left-hander expressed his desire to play in Pakistan, where the Three Lions will play a three-match Test series in December this year.

"When, or if, Baz McCullum wants me, I'll definitely play in Pakistan," Moeen had told BBC Test Match Special.

During the same interview, the 2019 World Cup winner added that he spoke to Brendon McCullum (Head coach of the England Test team) and spoke about the Pakistan tour during the Asian winters. The 35-year-old had said that he is now officially unretired from the longest format of the game.

"I spoke to McCullum this morning, and we did discuss Pakistan this winter. The door is always open, and yeah, I suppose I am officially unretired," he had said.
"He is a very difficult person to say no to. I find that very, very hard. He is very convincing and to be honest I would love to play under him and Ben Stokes. They are both very aggressive and I think I would suit their cricket a bit more.
"At the time I said I was retired I felt like I was done. I felt really tired with cricket."

Things have drastically changed: Reports

However, it is now reported by 'The Cricketer' that Moeen Ali is now considering staying retired from the red-ball game. The report further says that he and leg-spinner Adil Rashid were contacted by Rob Key, managing director of the ECB. Ali has reportedly expressed his reservations about the busy schedule of the Test in the upcoming winter season.

On the other hand, Adil Rashid, who last a Test match in 2019, has reportedly said that he wants to manage his workload due to shoulder issues. Notably, both players are part of the seven-match T20I series starting on September 20.

Moeen Ali England Cricket Team Adil Rashid