England all-rounder Moeen Ali on Sunday announced that he is officially “unretired” and that he will return to Test cricket for the upcoming tour of Pakistan later this year.

The 34-year-old retired from Test cricket in September last year after playing 64 matches. Furing the third day’s play for the ongoing Test between England and New Zealand, he said that decided to make a comeback following a lengthy discussion with Brendon McCullum, the newly-appointed Test coach of the England national team.

“I spoke to McCullum this morning, and we did discuss Pakistan this winter. The door is always open, and yeah, I suppose I am officially unretired,” he said 

“He is a very difficult person to say no to. I find that very, very hard. He is very convincing and to be honest I would love to play under him and Ben Stokes. They are both very aggressive and I think I would suit their cricket a bit more.

“At the time I said I was retired I felt like I was done. I felt really tired with cricket,” Moeen added.

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Moeen scored 2914 runs in the 64 Tests he played, at an average of 28.29 and a strike rate of 51.14. She scored five centuries and 14 half-centuries and also took 195 wickets, including five five-wicket hauls and one 10-wicket haul.

“It’s been a good journey. But during the India series I felt like I was done, to be honest. I felt good, the atmosphere felt good, the dressing room etcetera, but cricketing-wise I found it a struggle to get in the zone bowling and batting and in the field. And the more I tried, I just couldn’t do it,” he said after announcing his retirement. 

“I was thinking about the Ashes and how I would love to have gone back and done well there. But it’s such a long trip if I’m not ‘in it’ and I think it’d be very, very difficult. And if I felt like I did against India when I was out there, then I would probably retire after one match. So it’s done.”