Cricket players Moeen Ali and Adil Rashid of England were asked if they would play for their homeland of Pakistan. Their responses were interesting.
Cricket players Adil Rashid and Moeen Ali of England were questioned openly in a podcast if they would play international cricket for Pakistan. Although the host’s selection of the international cricketing nation was clear, the England pair provided some interesting answers, even though they acknowledged that they had previously been asked similar questions. Adil stated that rather than play for a foreign nation, he would prefer to attempt to navigate the system in his home country. For Moeen, playing international cricket was more important than the country’s preference.
Adil responded to the issue during the Beard Before Wicket podcast by saying, “If I was born here, I’d look to play. If I was born in Pakistan, if I was born in India, wherever I was born, yeah definitely that’s the country that I will try and play for.”
“I consider myself ‘British-Asian’ and, if given the option, I would prefer to play for Pakistan over England,” the show’s host stated. Moeen described the assertion as “crazy,” yet he also claimed that he had never considered it.
Adil Rashid also offered his opinions on the subject, stating that he had never considered playing for Pakistan rather than England.
Saying, “I’m going to go to Pakistan and play for them,” has never occurred to me. Why would I?
The two England players, Moeen and Rashid, stepped in and declared, “We don’t qualify to play for Pakistan,” after the host stated that he believed there was a regulation that prevented Rashid from playing for Pakistan.
Then, when there was no chance of playing for England, Moeen asked Rashid whether he would play for Pakistan. In response, Rashid responded: “No, because if I was born in England, I would try to make it through the England system.”
Rashid then inquired as to whether he was qualified to play country cricket in England in order to get clarification on the matter. Moeen went on to say that he was, but only as a player from abroad. Then Rashid added: “I haven’t really considered anything like that. But depending on how much you truly want it and how much you love cricket, I would give it some thought. There are several factors you need to think about, including the lifestyle and the financial aspect.
Moeen Ali said that he would play for any international team in the globe when the host posed the same query to him.
