MANCHESTER: Moeen Ali represented Chennai Super Kings in four IPL seasons starting from 2021 winning two titles - one each in the first year and 2023. He was the third leading scorer for them in his maiden season scoring 357 runs from 15 matches. It was during that edition, he was given an opportunity to bat at No 3 and the English all-rounder made the most of it turning it to be his most successful IPL stint so far.
Munir Ali, Moeen's father, said IPL played a big role in Moeen's growth as a cricketer and affirmed it was skipper MS Dhoni and CSK that used the all-rounder to the best of his potential. "Playing him at No 3 was the best thing that happened to him when he was with CSK. I always say Moeen as a batting all-rounder but hardly he was used in that capacity while playing for England. CSK rightly promoted him up the order and it augured well both for him and the team," father Munir told this daily.
The 38-year-old all-rounder played his first three IPL seasons for Royal Challengers Bengaluru before being bought by five-time champions. Munir, who left no stone unturned to make sure Moeen makes it big at the international level, said his son learnt a lot from skipper Dhoni, which eventually helped him when he captained a few sides in England.
"Playing IPL was a great move for Moeen. First he played for RCB and got a chance to spend time with Virat (Kohli). Then he moved to CSK and learnt a lot from Dhoni - the calmness, captaincy skills. I would say playing at No 3 and getting an opportunity with the ball helped him thrive at CSK. He always talks about Dhoni how much he learnt from him. He enjoyed playing for CSK. He loved his stay in Chennai as everyone loves CSK players there. We still get messages for him on social media from fans, which make us really happy and proud," he added.
Soon after his first season with the Chennai franchise, Moeen guided Birmingham Phoenix into the final of the inaugural Hundred. Munir believed it was from Dhoni that he learnt captaincy skills, which helped in doing so. "As a captain he found that Dhoni was always calm no matter what the situation was. When he came back, he captained Birmingham Phoenix to the final. The commentators always talked about Moeen's calmness in difficult situations. That is one important thing he picked up from the former India captain. If a captain is calm and relaxed then the team is calm and relaxed and that was a life lesson for Moeen. Another thing he learnt from Dhoni was assessing the game and going accordingly."
Munir wanted to watch his son play for CSK from the stands and even got a visa for the India visit once but could not turn up due to poor health. He, however, still remembers a moment when the CSK crowd gave a huge cheer to his son when he walked out to bat. "I will always remember that day because I was watching that match on TV and the way Moeen was welcomed by the fans, I can only admire and feel honoured."
Borrowing money for training
It was not easy for Munir to help his son become a cricketer. Munir said he once had to borrow money from one of his friends to arrange some technical sessions for Moeen. "When he was 15 and already on a contract with Warwickshire, I noticed his vulnerability while playing outside the off stump. We took the services of late Neal Abberley, one of the best coaches at Warwickshire, to iron out that flaw. It cost me 50 pounds per session, which went for around an hour. In total I paid 500 pounds for 10 sessions. I borrowed a part of it from one of my friends," Munir reminisced.
But it's not the only hurdle the Ali family had to overcome as there were many to deal with. Munir, however, now is in a happy space and restarted his journey as a coach again imparting training to his grandsons - Abu Bakr, Moeen's son and Musa and Hamza, sons of Kadeer, Moeen's elder brother.
