Moeen Ali, the PSL and a very personal cause

EXCLUSIVE - SAM MORSHEAD: Moeen says an England tour "would send a message to the world". That message means plenty to him, why else would he be here - not just in Pakistan, not just in Multan, but chatting to a journalist at 10 o'clock at night

For a handful of local players, the Pakistan Super League is life-changing.

Take Multan Sultans’ diamond draft pick, Zeeshan Ashraf, for example.

The wicketkeeper-batsman had been scrabbling around in second grade cricket for much of his career before, at the age of 27, he was plucked from relative obscurity by the Sultans.

His five-week contract in the PSL this spring is worth in the region of £70,000 in a country where the average monthly wage is less than £600. The son of a poor tailor, who spent most of his son’s formative years working hundreds of miles away from his family in Saudi Arabia, Zeeshan is investing his earnings in a house for his parents in their hometown of Okara.

Moeen Ali can relate. After his first season as an England player, he bought a car for his father Munir, who had sacrificed so much for his son.

“Money isn’t everything but it’s important to players who depend on it,” he says. 

For those involved in this year’s PSL, however, and that includes Moeen, there is much more at stake. This competition is one of Pakistan’s most important cultural events of the 21st century, a long-awaited opportunity to open its doors internationally and insist it belongs.

That message obviously means plenty to Moeen, otherwise why would he be here - not just in Pakistan, not just in Multan at the end of a long Saturday during which his Sultans side have beaten Quetta Gladiators, but, at 10 o’clock at night, sat chatting with an English journalist?

Yet here we are, on a grey corner sofa in a hotel suite, Bournemouth against Chelsea humming in the background. 

Why? Moeen just gets it.

The allrounder appreciates sport’s inherent links to the politics of social change - in 2014 he made headlines after wearing wristbands bearing the slogans “Save Gaza” and “Free Palestine” during a Southampton Test match - and he has been unafraid to recognise his status as a British Muslim role model since establishing himself in international cricket.

^{Moeen Ali is playing for Multan Sultans in the PSL}

“The image of people who look like me in the media - Muslim men with beards - often isn't positive,” he said in a 2015 interview with Cricket Country.

“If I can change that a bit, and if I can show people - not just Muslims - that you can make it in cricket, whatever your race or religion, then I'll be satisfied with my career.”

In that context, making himself unavailable for England’s tour of Sri Lanka, and focusing instead on the PSL’s return to a country which means so much to him and his family, makes perfect sense.

“A part of coming here is to try to get cricket in Pakistan again,” he says. “It’s also to experience the atmospheres and a bit of franchise cricket, but it’s mainly to get Pakistan playing cricket again, getting their fans to experience good players coming, and being part of a franchise league that’s talked about a lot around the circuit.

“Being of Pakistani heritage, it definitely means a lot to come out and experience it. My dad was very keen for me to come out. It’s been amazing.”

No wonder, then, that he is desperate to be part of an England side that tours the country.

“It would be a major stepping stone, milestone, whatever you want to call it… for England to come out,” he says. “It would send a message to the rest of the world. It would be great for cricket.”

The ECB have yet to ask players involved in the PSL for their thoughts on touring Pakistan, although The Cricketer understands there are tentative plans to do so at the end of this year’s competition. According to the ICC’s Future Tours Programme, England are due to play three Tests and five ODIs here in the final months of 2022.

“If they ask and they want to know then of course I’ll be honest about it. I won’t be biased for or against it at all. I’ll tell them what I think and believe,” Moeen says.

“As a player you hope that cricket does come back here and you’re part of that legacy. You hope you’re part of that group that came back and played cricket in Pakistan again.”

The PSL will play a major role in facilitating that. 

There are plans afoot for a seventh team to be added to the roster in the near future, perhaps even in 2021. Next season, Peshawar - a region against which the Foreign Office still advises some travel - will likely get to host matches. Rawalpindi can certainly put forward a case for its own team. Multan is set to stage all of its home games in the city that bears the franchise’s name. Cricket is reconnecting parts of the country with both each other and the outside world.

This is progress, a realignment not only of the country’s most prominent sporting competition but also its standing in the global community.

Safety is the primary concern of anyone looking at visiting. Pakistan has struggled against the plague of terrorism for much of the 21st century, with more than 65,000 lives being lost and more than $126billion of losses being inflicted to the economy as a result.

Yet there are signs of change, and the entire PSL being hosted in Pakistani venues is one of the biggest indications to date of a societal shift.

SPECIAL REPORT: Winning hearts, changing minds - the inside story of the PSL's homecoming

Still, Moeen understands why many remain wary.

“It’s never as bad as people think,” he says. “My attitude has always been like that. Sometimes you can make things out to be worse than they are. 

“You’ve always got to look positively. If things don’t go right then at least you had the right mindset, and you tried.

“We do talk about it as players. Everyone has their own opinion on it, and most of it is positive.”

The security arrangements for the Pakistan Super League are immense, with all six teams being afforded head-of-state detail for the duration of the tournament. That means snipers on rooftops overlooking hotels, vast armoured escorts to matches, airport-style bag scanners outside stadiums and lockdown protocols for the players in their accommodation.

For some, the images of balaclava-ed military police patrolling sports grounds with semi-automatic weapons might set off alarm bells - in fact, one reason for England Women’s games against Pakistan being staged in Malaysia not Pakistan in December was the impact of such scenery on young athletes - but Moeen is pragmatic.

^{Moeen has had an uncomfortable year at international level}

“It depends on how people look at it. I look at it as being safe, or at least safer. You might be somewhere where something happens - in South Africa, for example - and you don’t have that. Then you’d be in trouble,” he says.

“At least if something does happen, there’s a great chance of being looked after by the people with guns and you know that you’re pretty safe. 

“Some guys probably think ‘that guy with a gun could turn on you’ but you can’t be too negative about these things. Personally, I feel safer.”

These are not hollow words. Most of Moeen’s family is joining him on his PSL adventure - his wife Firuza, children, mum and dad have all flown out to be with him at some point. 

“I think it (Pakistan’s security reputation) is a little bit unfair because you’re not safe anywhere,” Moeen says. 

“It can be wrong place, wrong time. Even in England now, the crime rate’s massive. I just feel the perception you have from the outside is it’s not safe to go. My counter-argument is it’s not safe anywhere, really.

“Yes, there are some places you might feel a bit safer but the security has been really impressive. We had the same thing in Bangladesh a few years ago when some guys didn’t go. It was brilliant. 

Multan's message to the world on seismic opening night

“Pakistan is a beautiful country - the food, the place, the people are amazing. It has a lot to offer, as do other places people think are not so safe.”

When The Cricketer spoke with Moeen in late February, he voiced an intention to negotiate a trip to Azad Kashmir, where his mother was brought up and one of his uncles now lives.

“To have those memories back would be amazing,” he says.

When Moeen was a child, he would visit the region once a year with his mum and younger brother Omar. On separate occasions, his father Munir would take his older brother Kadeer and sister.

He credits winning a contract with Warwickshire, at least in part, to his learning experiences in Pakistan. 

“There’s a vibe in Pakistan, which is different to other places,” he says. 

“I don’t know if it’s because of my background and my roots, but there’s a great vibe around. “People are very hospitable, they just look after us really well. It’s like a nice chill and obviously the cricket is tough.”

On the morning of his Sultans’ home game against Quetta, Moeen ran into Jason Roy in the Multan Ramada. 

Ran into makes it sound coincidental - the Ramada is so modestly sized it must have been harder to avoid one another.

“He can struggle at times (with being in the franchise environment) and so can others, but he’s really enjoyed it,” Moeen said. “That’s been the vibe from every overseas player that’s played”

Certainly, the vast majority of imports that The Cricketer talks to during eight days in Pakistan support that notion - and the atmospheres inside some of the venues are as intense as anywhere on Planet Cricket.

Moeen compares the noise inside the Multan International Stadium as on a par with the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore, the home of his IPL team RCB.

“The fans are electric, especially the Multan fans in the three games that we had there,” he says. 

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“They love cricket, and I’ve always felt that sport - and cricket in particular - can bring people together and take you away from all the bad stuff. That’s what we probably need.

“In the three games, the atmosphere was unbelievable, right up with the best I’ve ever heard.”

The social experience is somewhat different - players are largely confined to hotels and, in the case of the Multan Ramada, that can mean dealing with the spectre of boredom.

But senior PCB sources have told The Cricketer that, if this competition goes off without a security breach, the severity of the measures will be significantly downgraded for 2021.

“It’s been so long that there hasn’t been international cricket here. People are just very cautious, I think it’s now just human nature to be a bit like that. Personally, I think it’s quite harsh at times,” says Moeen.

“I understand it; people’s safety comes first and something might happen, we don’t know. But that might happen anywhere.”

While the might of Pakistan’s military presence is boldly on display outside the team hotels, inside the players are at the mercy of idolising fans and the cult of the selfie.

Especially in the close confines of the Multan Ramada, where fellow guests mingle with PSL stars at mealtimes and flock the lobby when they set off for practice and matches, it can be hard to move for outstretched mobile phones.

Moeen admirably makes time to pose for as many as he can, even when his supporters - some of whom work for the venue - interrupt his breakfast. 

^{The allrounder has received a hero's welcome in Pakistan}

“When someone asks you for a selfie, you’re obviously happy to do it,” he says, after half-joking that cameraphones “are one of the worst inventions” (Moeen quit social media and deleted all of his accounts in 2018).

“You don’t tire of it because when I was a kid I would have loved to take a picture. When I see Liverpool players (he is a massive Liverpool FC fan), I will take a picture. I’d ask for a selfie for sure; so it’s like that for them. I don’t criticise it at all. It just gets tiring at times.

“It’s part of being a player. It’s my job to try to inspire and make people happy. I would rather someone say ‘he was nice and took time out for us’. You don’t know what people are going through and what you might be doing for them.”

The love for England’s allrounder goes well beyond those mobs in the hotel foyer. 

During a rapid half-century against Karachi Kings, or when he claims a catch on the boundary against Quetta Gladiators, the roar for Moeen is louder than all others with the exception of Shahid Afridi. He has status here; the affection is palpable.

“I’m very grateful. It doesn’t get to me, it doesn’t make me feel like I’m special. I appreciate it big time,” he says. 

“It makes me feel happy but it doesn’t make me feel proud in any way. It’s like me giving back, almost - to make people happy, to have people come and see you play.

“Here people are happy to see you, really happy to see you. In England of course that’s the case as well but cricket is such a big thing here.”

It has not been a particularly comfortable 12 months in an England shirt for Moeen, who lost his place in the Test side and subsequently his red-ball central contract. 

"Sri Lanka was talked about, and it was mentioned about me going. I felt I needed a bit more time"

He was the subject of plenty of criticism, both in the press and via social media, which he felt was not wholly representative - in a July column for the Guardian, the allrounder wrote: “I know I play some horrendous shots at times but, when I do, I feel I attract more stick for it than others” - and by the time autumn rolled around he had made himself unavailable for the Test tours of New Zealand and South Africa.

Sri Lanka, it was thought, would be the opportunity for Moeen to make a return, what with the possibility of England lining up with three specialist spinners, as they did during their 3-0 series win in 2018. 

Instead, he opted to honour his contract in the PSL.

“I lost my spot in the Test side. When I did, Andy (Flower, Multan head coach) phoned me and asked me if I fancied coming and playing for Multan Sultans and of course I did. I want to play cricket and enjoy my cricket,” he says.

“Then Sri Lanka was talked about, and it was mentioned about me going. I felt I needed a bit more time. When I say time, I don’t mean I want to pick and choose where I want to play, I just want to give myself more time than I thought I was going to.

“Being here didn’t really have any weight in it. I was just really excited to come.”

The temptation is to explore the subject further. But Moeen’s family have just popped up on facetime, and frankly what more is there to be said?

After all, this story is not about England. Well, not until 2022, that is.