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Moeen reveals the struggles in his cricket journey, says it gives him goosebumps even today

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Chennai Super Kings all-rounder Moeen Ali has revealed the struggles he had to go through in his cricketing journey, saying that the mere thought of the tough road he traversed gives him “goosebumps” today.

Following an extremely successful IPL 2021 season with CSK, where he played a key role in the Chennai franchise clinching its fourth title in the UAE, the England player, who quit Test cricket to prolong his white-ball career, has had a patchy IPL 2022.

As the IPL 2022 season ended prematurely for the Mahendra Singh Dhoni-led side, Moeen reflected on the struggles he faced in his formative years and how determination and passion for the sport helped him overcome the hurdles.

He revealed that his family didn’t even have one Pound on some days to make ends meet, forcing them to survive on sandwiches or cucumber.

“My dad had a huge passion for the game… him and as well as the twin brothers. Between the families, there were five of us, so my cousins played, I played my younger brother played. I just remember I was eight years old (when) I started playing with my brothers in the park, and I could feel that they were also getting better. So, then I took a trial when I was 19, and it was the first time that I ever played with a hard ball and stuff,” the 34-year-old all-rounder said on CSK TV.

“That was the start and I was soon playing county cricket at a young age, doing well and loving the game. It was football, cricket, football, cricket. Cricket was my dad’s passion and we just carried on,” added Moeen.

Moeen said that his father had to juggle between his work as a psychiatric nurse and taking the children for county games, adding that sometimes he could not afford petrol, and occasionally food.

“At first, we were not very well off… we did not have a lot of money. My dad worked as a psychiatric nurse, which means you have to see people struggle mentally and stuff in the hospital. But at the same time, he had to take me and my brothers for county games, trials and training. He could not afford petrol; he could not afford sometimes, food. It was very difficult. Sometimes all three of us had a game the same day, a county game which was really unfortunate. We had one car, a terrible car between two families and so once the petrol and everything is done, we had just one pound left for the whole day. We had to get bread, sometimes cucumber and sandwich.

“That is the struggle… and it wasn’t just my dad and uncle. It was my mum and aunt, them getting the clothes ready, making sure everything was on time. It was always a rush. Very, very difficult times, but the best times,” added Moeen.

“That was one of the many, many stories where financially we really struggled. My uncle and dad turned up selling chickens just to provide for the next game. I didn’t even have my own pads at one point of time… I had to use my dad’s friend’s son’s pads for trials. So, very difficult but amazing days. I became professional very early and things got better and better.”

On the cricket field, Moeen rose quickly, first starting as a seam-bowling all-rounder before taking to off-spin on the insistence of a coach. Back issues while bowling seam played a part in the decision.

“For me it was just the normal thing to play every day. I didn’t know what it was to be a professional. I just thought this is life, I am playing every day, and my dad said, from 13 to 15, give me two years of your life. After school, we train, and we go outside in the park. Do whatever it takes. And after that, you do whatever you want. And that was the mindset that got me training everyday.

“Our area where we were living, it was a very rough area, fighting and all. But I just wanted to play cricket. We were adamant we were going to make it and that is something that came from my dad, just try better than everybody. Not in an arrogant way, but just work harder than everybody else. Just thinking about it now makes me get goosebumps because you think where you come from and it is a great reminder for myself about my own humble background,” added Moeen.

International

CT 2025: India to take on Pakistan on Feb 23, likely to play in Colombo or Dubai: Sources

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New Delhi, Dec 19: The much-awaited clash between arch-rivals India and Pakistan in the Champions Trophy 2025 will be played on February 23 with Colombo and Dubai front-runners to play host for India’s matches in the tournament being played in hybrid format. The development comes after the ICC Board said that “India and Pakistan matches hosted by either country at ICC Events during the 2024-2027 rights cycle will be played at a neutral venue.”

“India will take on Pakistan at a neutral venue on February 23, 2025. ICC looking at Colombo and Dubai to host their matches.”

The Champions Trophy is scheduled to be played in February and March 2025. Meanwhile, ICC said the schedule for the marquee tournament will be confirmed in the coming days.

Pakistan are the defending champions of the tournament, having defeated India by 180 runs in the final at The Oval in 2017. Both teams last played against each other in the T20 World Cup in New York earlier this year which India won by six runs and went on to claim their second silverware in the format.

Due to the strained political relations between the two neighbouring countries, India and Pakistan only play each other in international events including World Cups and Asia Cup. The last bilateral series between India and Pakistan was held in 2012-13 when the latter toured India for the five-match white-ball series.

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International

It’s OFFICIAL! All India vs Pakistan Matches At ICC Events To Be Played At Neutral Venue Till 2027

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India and Pakistan matches hosted by either country at ICC Events during the 2024-2027 rights cycle will be played at a neutral venue, the ICC Board confirmed on Thursday, 19 December. The schedule for the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 is set to be confirmed soon, with Pakistan aiming to defend the title they won in 2017.

The eight-team event will feature Afghanistan, Australia, Bangladesh, England, India, New Zealand, and South Africa, alongside hosts Pakistan.

This will apply to the upcoming ICC Men’s Champions Trophy 2025 (hosted by Pakistan), set to be played in February and March 2025, as well as the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2025 (hosted by India) and the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 (hosted by India and Sri Lanka).

It was also announced that the PCB has been awarded hosting rights of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup in 2028, where neutral venue arrangements will also apply. Cricket Australia is set to host one of the senior ICC women’s events during the period 2029 to 2031.

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‘Our dream is getting fulfilled’: Coach Sumit Bhatia elated to see Kho Kho going global

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New Delhi, Dec 16: Coach Sumit Bhatia is all pumped up for the first edition of the Kho Kho World Cup scheduled to take place from January 13-19, 2025. Bhatia, who holds a distinct record of being the only head coach to have won the Asian Championship twice, believes that this historical step is an indication of the realisation of the dream to take the sport to the international level and help it gain global recognition.

Having been honoured with the best coach award by the Delhi government, Bhatia has been a part of various Indian teams’ success, including the 2016 and 2023 Asian Kho Kho Championship victories, and has trained players like Nasreen Shaikh and Sarika Sudhakar Kale. Both of them have been Arjuna Awardees.

Nasreen, who is also a part of the World Cup camp, is the only player who has played in two Asian Championships and won the gold. The coach-student duo is now gearing up for the global event.

Sharing how the journey of Kho Kho World Cup’s inception, the coach said, “We organised an international camp here before COVID happened, in 2020. Coaches and players from 16 countries came here and we gave them training. Now they will be coming here for the World Cup but this campaign started in that camp”.

He further said, “Around 30-35 countries were willing to play the tournament but we picked the best 20 teams for both men and women. Some countries have single teams while some have double teams but a total of 24 countries will be participating in the tournament. It was our dream to take Kho Kho to the international level and now we can see that our dream is getting fulfilled.”

He also lauded the launch of the Ultimate Kho Kho League and shared how the franchise-based model has helped the players and coaches gain recognition, while also bringing forward grassroot talent.

“When the Ultimate Kho Kho league started, I also joined Telegu Yodhas as their head coach and we also played the final. Players have gotten exposure through the league and it’s not just financial. Earlier we used to hesitate while admitting being a Kho Kho coach but today our players introduce us as their coach,” said Bhatia.

He added, “The league got so much coverage that wherever we go, the players are approached for autographs. So the platform of the league started a new world for both coaches and players and now not just India but the entire world knows us. Earlier we used to tell people about our game but now they know what is Kho Kho and Ultimate Kho Kho league and are also waiting for the third season.”

Bhatia also discussed the impact of sports science on Kho Kho and lauded the newly introduced technology and said, “We have benefitted a lot from it. Sometimes we don’t understand why a player is not performing well. But with the introduction of sports science, we now know about the details of the problem.

“For example, a player might be facing issues with his left leg while sitting and so, it gives us an opportunity to work on that weakness… Sports science has helped us in identifying the accuracy and weakness of a player. So it’s very beneficial for us.”

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