England all-rounder Moeen Ali has never had any desire to play for Pakistan, saying he is English through and through, and hopes Asian kids born in the UK learn to support England's cricketers.
While Ali's parents are from Pakistan, he was born in Birmingham and has wanted to play for England since childhood.
"A lot of Asians I've met have said, 'Why don't you play for Pakistan?', but for me it was always about playing for England. This is my country, this is where I was born.
"I was saying to (England captain) Alastair Cook the other day that as soon as I land or drive into Birmingham I feel at home. No matter where I've been in the world. It's really special.
"I like to see the kids in my area wearing England shirts, not Pakistan or India ones. A lot of it comes from the older generations but it's changing slowly, especially if people like myself and Ravi Bopara are playing for England.
"I would like to see that change a bit more."
I think home is a combinationof birthright, but not exclusively, and where you have spent most of you life...familiarity. So the latte prevails in most cases.
If you have spent more than 6 years in the place of birth from birth, IMO, you have such connection.
Well he is British - it's all about where you are and you develop a connection there, as Mail said.
Same with Amla, Bopara et. al even. He's as Pakistani as Nasser Hussain is Indian.
