England all-rounder Moeen Ali is all set to take an indefinite break from red-ball cricket after he was not handed a contract for Test cricket by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB).

“He just wants a little bit of a break from Test cricket,” told Ashley Giles, the managing director of the ECB, adding that he hasn’t announced his retirement from the longest format of the game.

Moeen Ali has been going through a difficult time as he first lost his place in the ODI side to Liam Plunkett during England’s victorious ICC World Cup campaign and then he was dropped from the Test side after the first two Ashes Tests for Jack Leach.

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“I think for all the guys, not just talking about Moeen, it’s been a really challenging summer. A World Cup and an Ashes back-to-back has had a massive effect on many of these guys, psychologically as much as physically,” said Giles. “Some of those guys are still carrying that. His experience in the first Test wasn’t a great one but that’s cricket.

He’s been a great servant to this team and that’s why I encouraged him to leave that option open for him to come back. He might just need that time away and freshen up but he’s been a really good servant to this team and he’s relatively young,” he added.

However, he has retained his white-ball contract, that suggests he remains a key part for the ODI and T20I formats. Although there are question marks over his Test future.

“It’s just to get away from it a little bit. I feel like I want to enjoy my batting and this will give me a bit of a break,” Moeen Ali said to ESPNCricinfo about his decision.

He further said that he wants to spend time with his family. He has been playing for England for five years and he was in need of a break.

“I’m not ruling out playing Test cricket in the future. I’ve had long chats and thought about it quite a lot. I just want to give myself a bit of time to refresh my batteries and see where it goes after that,” he concluded.