IPL 2019: It's a shame to be flying back soon, says RCB's Moeen Ali

Moeen Ali

Tonight will be RCB all-rounder Moeen Ali's last game in this season's IPL, after which he will take his place as an England all-rounder again. The man who has contributed the most to whatever little success RCB have enjoyed thus far has mixed feelings about his premature return to England, which in a way shows the true pull of the IPL.

"I feel like I'm a big part of the boys (at RCB) and I'll miss them. It's a shame but there's obviously the World Cup which is very important as well," said Ali at the media interaction on Tuesday. "I needed to come and play the IPL. There is a lot of time you can spend in the nets here and improve your game, which is one of the best things about the IPL for foreign players," he added.

The man is also fine with the game time he's got even if his batting position hasn't been the optimum one or if he hasn't bowled enough. "Obviously the preference is to come in as early as possible, but with Virat and AB doing well it isn't really possible. But I am not too worried as long as we are winning and I am doing okay for the boys," said Moeen about his batting spot.

He's happy to bowl when required to but understands he may not always be called upon to bowl. "In England in the smaller grounds I am out of the eleven but next game I am back. But when the time comes for me to bowl I'll make sure I'm ready. If the captain calls me, he calls me, else it's fine," said Moeen.

Like Moeen, many of the foreign players will be leaving for World Cup duty soon but with Kings XI the situation is far better. "The credit goes to the people who put their head into selecting the side and knowing who all are going to be available," said Kings XI's Mayank Agarwal, who's also quite enjoying the time with Chris Gayle.

"If he (Gayle) is going great guns, all you have to do is take the single and you are sitting in the best seat in the house. The kind of pressure he is putting on the bowlers just makes it easy for the guy who is at the other end. All the focus is on him, the bowlers are putting a lot of mental energy in trying to get him out, it becomes easier for the guy who is playing with him," said Agarwal, one of three Karnataka boys in Kings XI.

Asked about R Ashwin's contribution as skipper, Agarwal was equally gung ho here too. "Ashwin gets a lot to the table. We all know he is a very thinking cricketer, very smart cricketer. He gets all of that to this thing. He is the kind of person who spends a lot of time in thinking, planning and going about understanding each and every person. He is also great with communication. Goes out to every player, communicates well to them and if there's anything required of the player or if there is a specific role that needs to communicated, he does all of that."

Does Ashwin speak Punjabi too, one can't help wondering.

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