Moeen Ali has been a wonderful role model, he leaves a legacy, states Joe Root

England all-rounder, Moeen Ali on Monday, September 27 announced his retirement from Test cricket. Moeen has accumulated 2914 runs at an average of 28.3 and has taken 195 wickets from 64 Test matches, since his debut in 2014 against Sri Lanka.

The 34-year-old is currently plying his trade for the Chennai Super Kings in IPL 2021 in UAE. Moeen will continue playing in ODIs and T20Is for England, and he is also a part of the England squad for the T20 World Cup in UAE and Oman, which begins on October 17.

Joe Root, who leads England in Test cricket, stated that Moeen Ali has been a wonderful role model for youngsters. He further said that the southpaw has done fabulous things for England in the red-ball format and he leaves a legacy.

"He's been a wonderful role model," Root said during a Zoom interview organized by the PCA. "I really hope that, off the back of what he has done and achieved at Test cricket, there will be so many young boys and girls out there wanting to follow in his footsteps because he's done fabulous things. The way he holds himself. The way he carries himself, the way he goes about things is fantastic. He leaves a legacy."

Root, who captained Moeen in 27 of his 64 Tests, remarked that the all-rounder has been one of the greatest cricketers to play alongside.

"First and foremost, it goes without saying that Mo's career speaks for itself and what he has achieved. He's done some wonderful things in Test cricket. He's been one of the great guys to play alongside. I've thoroughly enjoyed sharing that dressing room with him and we've had so many wonderful memories, on the field and off the field," said Root.

Moeen was not considered for selection in the first three Tests against India recently, and was brought back to the team for the remaining two games. In what happened to be his last Test, at The Oval, he registered scores of 0 and 35 with the bat, and dismissed Virat Kohli and Rishabh Pant in India's second innings.

Root stated that Moeen has been exceptional in red-ball format for England, and was hopeful of the all-rounder carrying on his brilliance in limited-overs cricket.

"The one thing I will say is when Mo has played, he's been brilliant," Root said. "You look at the amount of games he has affected, the amount of special moments he has had on a cricket field in the Test match format has been exceptional. I'll certainly remember a lot of amazing things that he has achieved. Of course, there might have been times we could have done things slightly differently, but I could say that about a lot of things.

"I think at times he has been underappreciated. Not within the dressing room but outside of that. He'll be a huge loss. He's a great personality to have in and around the dressing room, and he's a great brain for younger players to learn from and to feed off. I just wish him every success in everything he chooses to do from now. Hopefully there's a lot of cricket I can still get to play with him in the ODI side with England as well."