IND vs. Eng: After Moeen Ali, Birmingham’s’ Uncle Munir ‘is now busy shaping his grandparents’ career. Cricket news
Timesofindia.com in Birmingham: On Sunday morning at the Sheldon Marlboro Cricket Club, Munir Ali was seated near the Seema Ropes with his twin brother Shabbir. A local league game with U-13 children featured was going on and two gentlemen now clung to the action in their 70s. A child behind the stumps – his grandson Abu Baker – attracted most of Munir’s attention.The 11-year-old wicketkeeper Batter is the son of former England all-rounder Moin Ali and his cousin Moses and Hamza-Team’s comrades were Kadir Ali’s Sons. The youth were passing hard to their father and uncles during their early years and when the time has changed, the man calling the shots remain the same. Munir remains the force that keeps running the family’s cricket and after shaping the career of his sons and nephews, meditation has now moved to the next generation, including his daughter’s children.While the children of his son and nephew are still young, his daughter’s son Isaac Mohammed has already taken a big step in his cricket career as he has made it in the England U19 squad which is currently playing India U19. Left -handed opener Isaac has been “modeling” like his uncle Moen, a three -year contract with Vestershair and postponed to be the next big thing in English cricket.
Munir Ali with his twin brother Shabbir Ali at the Sheldon Marlboro Cricket Club in Birmingham. (Sahil Malhotra)
“He is going to be a great cricketer, he will play all the format, he will play around the world. He will be good as Moen. He got a good game, he is only 17 years old and playing on a very high level. I was listening to the comments during U -19 Games vs India and heard that he reminds an England cricketer (laughter). We all know who it is because I have modeled him like Moane because I have seen the similarity in the game, “Munir tells T T T T T Ticsofyndia.com in a border-side chat.He cannot bias and behaves everyone in the family equally, but each of his grandparents has a different view. Qadir’s son Moses is an all-rounder and Hamza is being designed for the role of power-touching. Qadir has two more children – five -year -old twin boys – and they have started swinging the bat in the house. His nephew Kabir Ali, a former England cricketer, has two sons Yusuf and Unis, and is not surprising that he plays cricket.
A U-13 cricket match is going on at the Sheldon Marlboro Cricket Club in Birmingham. (Sahil Malhotra)
However, none of them are one of the wicketkeepers and that is why Munir asked Moin’s son Abu Baker to take big gloves. He started as a top -order batsman, who could bowl moderate speed but “good body” forced a turn in a different direction.“He really enjoys wicket-keeping. He was a middle-book bowler, but we thought he was never going to be a bowler due to his manufacture, but he had a very good body for a wicket-keeper. The slim boy, very agile, dives here, dives there, and he is really good. She is great for her age at the age of 11. We have not yet taken him to test in county, but we are going, we are going to talk to them and may, you know, so that he can keep it. We wanted to keep him back for another year. Just to get her ready for her, “Munir says that her grandchildren close their gloves in a flash to throw away at the end of the non-strayer.
Amidst conversation and Munir’s comments, there were several obstacles when ‘Uncle Munir’ was congratulated by the parents of young cricketers. There were remarrators to sip some sips with cooling. Every greeting, reminder and conversation received a normal warm response from Munir. It is an understanding to say that he is famous in Birmingham and his popularity has increased only after Moin’s cricketing success.
One of the streets of Birmingham is painted a Moin Ali mural. (Sahil Malhotra)
However, it was not as pink as it is right now. Back during the day, Ali had its own proper part of conflicts near the house and it was not easy for both Munir and Shabbir to eat at the table, and to ensure that cricket is not affected. There was a clear division of roles between the two brothers, but it was easy than it was easy. Sparkhil had a Stony Lane neighbor in which Moane and his brothers picked up the bat and the ball, and became obsessed with it.
There was a Stony Lane neighbor in Sparkhil where Moin Ali fell in love with cricket. (Sahil Malhotra)
Parks, roads, schools, backyard of the house and even indoors, cricket never stopped for Ellis, which remained very popular even after leaving the field. A quick dash from Stony Park, where a mural of Moin Ali is painted on the wall, is a Milan Sweet Shop that occupies the prime corner position. Established in 1975, the vegetarian joint was often seen by Moene for its samosas. A middle -aged boy now sits behind the counter and remembers Ellis.“Oh yes, he used to live very close here. Those who do not know Moin or Uncle Munir. They have gone out of the area for a long time, but now the park has a wall of Moane who reminds us that he is a very part of the neighborhood,” says the owner of the second generation of The Sweet Shop.
Milan dessert, a vegetarian joint, which was to go to the place for Moin Ali’s samosa. (Sahil Malhotra)
A quick reference to matching sweets, and Munir’s eyes grew up after hearing about the area of their children and nephews.“Moen was always inside and out of that shop, buying samosas and everything else. He went to Nelson Mandela School, which was around the corner. And then the park, small thing, the area that they had, the playground, they used to play every evening. All my sons used to go there after school and they used to do a competition in the area.“All the boys of the area used to come. And because my boys were playing county cricket, Kabir was playing, playing Qadir, playing Moen, Omar, they were all playing county cricket. Many other youths were inspired by them. So perhaps we were famous there because of the boys playing cricket. Everyone loved Moeen in school – his teacher and everyone. Because he used to play and was very famous, “Munir says.
A supermarket in the neighborhood, where Moeen Ali grew up. (Sahil Malhotra)
The boys stepped into the neighborhood and adopted a more professional approach at the Masle Ashfield Cricket Club. Just a twenty minutes of walking from the sweets of Milan, the piece of the ground is located between the houses and is very easy to remember by a well -directed navigation. The club still has a half -broken photo frame of Munir with its figures and travels from Ellis.In Birmingham, there is a strong belief that “Uncle Munir” can make anyone a cricketer. Everyone believes that they have an eye for talent and the skills required to shape a cricketer.
Moeen Ali father Munir Ali is called ‘Uncle Munir’ in Birmingham. (Sahil Malhotra)
After placing his mustache’s hair back, Munir gives a very animated response. “Somebody once said that Uncle Munir can turn a donkey into a horse (laughing). Someone said to me, ‘If you want your son or daughter to play cricket at a high level, then Munir goes to uncle, he knows all the tricks.’ Alhamadulillah, you know, I believe that I can, I can do it. I have changed some players, who did not know which handles to catch, you know, bat, yes, and they played county cricket.“I look at the technique, okay? My purpose has always been, even with me, you learn the first technique. You are done, your set-up has to be very strong, your base is to be very strong and you play within that box. First develop techniques and then you develop other things, “Munir explains.
Kolkata: Moin Ali of Kolkata Knight Riders celebrated the wicket of Yashasvi Jaiswal of Rajasthan Royals during the 2025 T20 cricket match, between Kolkata Knight Riders and Rajasthan Royals, in the Eden Gardens in Colecata, in West Bengal. (PTI Photo/Swapan Mahapatra)
As the conversation grows, he was one of the kinds of each type of England cricket, reminiscent of this. He remembers his knock and takes him out as he was yesterday and even after his retirement, he is not happy with the fact that his son reduced the order so much. Munir also patiently explained how Moane became so religious, growing his beard and it affected the whole family. He was initially worried about the entire terrorist matter, but made peace with it and saw its impact on his son’s mental peace.“It was a bit difficult for me in a way, because there were a lot of rumors about terrorism in those days, some things are happening here, terrorism and all that. And my mind was focused on their sports, cricket development, everything. Now he is in the U-19 side of England and people are starting to talk about Moeen Ali, which he and that were.
“And there I was seeing a change in his personality, growing a beard and reading Namaz all the time, being busy. One side was cricket, the other side was religion and his beliefs. And what has changed is that he was becoming an honest person, a true person, you know, as children do, say it, it says, he does not focus on one thing, he does not focus proper, honestly, he says honesty.
A road that leads to Masle Ashfield Cricket Club. (Sahil Malhotra)
“I was feeling something different, but it was not. Well, he was in a good place. He was getting better and better and better. He was now playing, was like picking up his game because his thought process was getting better, “Munir remembers.As he retreated for years in a conversation of about an hour, he was currently talking about the huge progress towards the future in front of him. The three grandchildren were waiting for their turn to bat during the innings break and “Uncle Munir” was busy congratulating them all they met. He said that Moeen was of one type, but if you conduct a quick survey in Birmingham, the vast majority “Uncle Munir” would be uninterruptedly selected in one way.
