Moeen Ali has been a wonderful role model for young boys and girls: England captain Joe Root

England’s Test captain Joe Root said that Moeen Ali would be remembered as a “wonderful role model,” adding that the star athlete did not receive the recognition he deserved outside the team.

Moeen, who made his Test debut in 2014, scored 2,914 runs in 64 Tests at an average of 28.29 and picked up 195 wickets with his off-spin.

Root further described Moeen Ali’s retirement from Test cricket as a “huge loss” to England and pointed out how Ali remains one of the great guys he has shared the dressing room with.

“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,” Root added.

Root said that Moeen has been exceptional for England in Test cricket, 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.”