Ali, who spent his teenage years in the UK before his playing career took him back to Pakistan, completed his Level 2 coaching qualification in 2016.
Over the following years, spells in UK club cricket as an overseas professional and coach helped to cement his love for improving others. “But at that stage,” he says, “I wasn’t thinking seriously about coaching long-term because I was still focused on playing.”
However, a back injury in 2018 gave him time to consider his options and, while he did eventually return to action in the Pakistan Super League (PSL), he chose to retire from playing at the end of 2020 in order to pursue a new career in coaching.
When Ali received an offer to join North London Cricket Club as head coach, he knew it was the chance he had been waiting for. “The club had around 300 juniors, plus girls’, women’s, and men’s teams,” he says.
His first task to establish the club’s coaching structure, including a High Performance Academy. He also helped several boys and girls progress into county and regional pathways. But he knew he couldn’t do everything by himself.
He says: “When I first moved over from Pakistan, I had no idea how the coaching landscape worked in the UK. I reached out to the National Asian Cricket Council (NACC) to understand the system, and from that day on they’ve given me unbelievable support and helped make the process clearer.
“My NACC mentor, Yusuf Karolia, has been with me from 2022, supporting me throughout my journey. The NACC even funded half of my Level 3 coaching qualification via the ECB’s Coach Development Bursary Programme.”
Ali adds: “The ECB has also offered vital support, giving me a scholarship to coach at the ECB Bunbury Festival in 2024. Being around experienced coaches and talented players was amazing, and lots of pathway coaches saw me coaching there.
“After the festival, Mark Allen contacted me and invited me to work with Middlesex U14s. The following year, I joined Kent as a pathway coach looking after the U13s. Then I became the Academy batting coach. And now, for 2026, I’ve just been appointed as Assistant Coach (Batting) for the men’s first XI.”
Ali’s progression has been accelerated by working as a batting coach with Quetta Gladiators during two PSL campaigns. But resilience and determination have been the key ingredients of his success.
“People think the rise has been quick, but it’s come from always learning and staying adaptable,” he says. “I’m now in the second year of my Level 4 qualification and I’m continually developing my understanding of biomechanics, psychology, and the wider skills that shape modern coaching.”
Coaching, he says, is one of the most transformative experiences you can have. And he doesn’t hesitate to recommend getting involved to anyone who’s even remotely thinking about it.
He says: “I’d tell anyone to give it a go. The ECB runs loads of programmes and coaching courses, and I’ve seen normal people, not professional athletes, go all the way through to Level 4 coaching. The opportunities and support are there. I started with coaching junior tennis-ball cricket and the feeling it gave me was incredible. It’s something you fall in love with very quickly.”
For more information on becoming a coach, visit: https://www.ecb.co.uk/play/coaching