Moeen Ali urges British Pakistani community to help flood victims

BIRMINGHAM: English cricketer Moeen Ali appealed to the British Pakistani community to donate generously towards the relief efforts for the flood victims in Pakistan.

While speaking to Geo News at Edgbaston Stadium, the Birmingham-born all-rounder expressed grief and sorrow over the calamity.

“It’s very, very, important that we donate not only because it’s Pakistan but because people need our help,” said Moeen. Apart from appealing to everyone to donate, the cricketer also asked everyone to pray for the lost souls.

“Obviously our roots are Pakistani so we should try to help them as much as we can and If you do it for Allah you get a lot of rewards. They are our brothers and sisters who are suffering and we will try to help them and most importantly pray for them,” said the all-rounder.

England is due to tour Pakistan later this month after a gap of 17 years and they will be visiting twice this year. And the English cricketer is excited to be part of the historic tour.

“I’m extremely excited obviously I have played many times against Pakistan but never in Pakistan so it’s going to be amazing not only for me but for my family as well as most of my relatives and friends are from Pakistan. I’m really looking forward to it so is Adil Rashid so it will be a good series. But most importantly England going to Pakistan is a big thing after so many years so it will be a huge honour”, he said.

Moeen Ali is one of those English players who have played in Pakistan in the Pakistan Super League. Talking about his time when he featured for PSL Multan Sultans, Moeen told Geo News that he enjoyed playing at the Multan Cricket Stadium.

“I really enjoyed my time in Multan as I have never been to Multan before. It’s not only a good wicket but also a brilliant home crowd. All grounds I had played on are good but in Multan, it was really fun,” said the cricketer.

Birmingham-born Moeen, who was recently awarded OBE by the Queen, termed the achievement a proud moment for not only himself but also for his family members. He’s the first British Pakistani sportsperson to receive this prestigious award.

“For me, it’s a great achievement considering the area of the city where I come from. Obviously, I’m happy that I got this award but more importantly my parents and family are happy too,” said Moeen.

“There are some wonderful moments and achievements in my life, obviously OBE is a big thing for me but winning the World Cup was big for the team so were Ashes and being part of the IPL winning team so these are wonderful memories,” he added.

The cricketer also urged the youth to have a vision in life and more importantly keep their family and parents happy.

“Whatever they want to do in life work hard on it as nothing can beat hard work. But do have a vision of what you want to do in life and just go for it. Nothing can stop you as long as you give everything. Have good intentions and all these things will fall in one place,” he said.