Moeen Ali was speaking ahead of the first Pakistan vs England T20I to be played at the National Stadium on Tuesday.
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England vice-captain Moeen Ali, who will be leading the side especially during the first half of England’s tour of Pakistan 2022, will be at the helm in England’s first-ever international match in Pakistan since 2005.
Ali, 35, has led England in four T20Is in the past which includes him leading them thrice during the tour of West Indies earlier this year. Ali, who will be leading for the first time in an international match in the Asian conditions on Tuesday, considers captaining England as a “huge honour”.
“Of course, my family is very happy as are my friends and my community and everybody who I feel I represent are very happy for me. Captaining England in any game, anywhere in the world is a huge honour for me,” Ali told reporters during a press conference in Karachi.
For the unversed, the first England-Pakistan T20I will be all the most special for Ali because his family belongs to Pakistan. The only other instance of Ali playing representative cricket in Pakistan dates back to Pakistan Super League 2020.
Moeen Ali confirms that injured Jos Buttler will himself decide participation on Pakistan tour
A primary reason behind Ali bagging the leadership role is a calf injury to regular white-ball captain Jos Buttler. Buttler, whose The Hundred 2022 stint at Manchester Originals had come to an end due to the same injury, hasn’t played any representative match in the last one month.
Despite being part of the squad in Pakistan, Buttler isn’t expected to take the field in the first half of the series. The same has further been confirmed by Ali providing an update around Buttler’s injury saying that England won’t risk playing him ahead of ICC T20 World Cup 2022 in Australia next month.
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“Jos [Buttler] injured his calf during The Hundred [2022]. So, he has to be careful. The [T20] World Cup in Australia is huge for us and we want him fit for the whole competition. So, no risks will be taken. He [Jos Buttler] will decide whether he will play in the last one or two games in Pakistan [or not],” Ali said of Buttler.
