I will try to learn more Sylheti words now that I am here: Moeen

England all-rounder Moeen Ali has been in superb form especially in the shortest form of the game. Moeen has also retired from Tests to focus solely on white-ball cricket and he is doing almost nothing wrong at the moment. He captained his side in a five-match T20I series recently in the West Indies and was in blistering form there. 

After finishing that assignment, the all-rounder arrived in Bangladesh to play for the star-studded Comilla Victorians in the Bangabandhu Bangladesh Premier League (BPL). Although he did not have to do much in this first game, Moeen wants to contribute in the team's next match against a strong Fortune Barishal. 

"I wanted to come to this competition in good form and I have been playing well for a while. [I am] happy with the way I'm playing. Hopefully tomorrow I will score some runs and take some wickets," Moeen said ahead of the match.

Moeen last played in the BPL nine years ago for the now-defunct Duronto Rajshahi. He had not yet made his England debut then. He has now come to play the tournament as a more mature and experienced cricketer. 

"Now it feels more professional than it was 11 [nine] years ago. [There are] better teams and the standard looks much better. That's what you want in franchise cricket. You want to get better every year, and what I've seen, the standard is certainly better. The local players are better, overseas players are better," said Moeen.

"[Cricket here is] very competitive. Different cricket here. You have really good spinners, good batters and good overseas players. It's tough. I think Bangladesh is one of the hardest places to come, especially for batters. But you can learn so much. If you can play well here, I feel you can play well anywhere. That's one of the reasons I came to Bangladesh to try and improve and get used to conditions here. So, when I come with England, I know the conditions better. I think the Bangladesh players have improved a lot," added the experienced all-rounder.

Moeen's wife Firoza Hossain is originally from Sylhet. Moeen is excited to be in Sylhet for the first time. "My wife is from here. Her sisters and brother in law are from here. They are all in Dhaka, coming to Sylhet in two days."

"Bangladeshi is home, Pakistan is home. England is home. I see them as all the same to be honest. All my in laws are here. Respect to them, it's my first time in Sylhet. They always used to tell me, let's go to Syhlet but somehow I don't manage the time. It's now nice to be here. It's a shame we can't go out but  I am very happy to be here, my family is from here.
I know a few Sylheti words and that's about it. I wish I learned more actually. I would try and learn more now that I am here. Because the guys at the hotel are speaking Sylheti to me," Moeen concluded.