New Delhi: England and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) all-rounder Moeen Ali made a startling revelation about his anxious time in India after the Indian armed forces conducted Operation Sindoor, in response to the ghastly terror attack in Pahalgam last month. Moeen has revealed his parents were in Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir (PoK) when the Indian armed forces carried out precision strikes in the region.
India carried out strikes in nine regions across Pakistan and PoK, targeting terrorist launchpads and infrastructure as part of Operation Sindoor. Hostilities began between the two countries after Operation Sindoor, leading to escalated tensions as the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 was called off. Moeen revealed his parents were in PoK, only an hour away from where the strikes were conducted.
The 37-year-old English cricketer, who has Pakistani roots, was with the KKR squad at the time along with his wife and children. Moeen revealed it was an anxious time for him and his family, but his parents managed to get out of PoK with the flights that were available on the same day.
“My parents were actually in Kashmir at the time… in Pakistan, only about an hour away from where the strikes happened probably… Maybe a bit farther. So it was a bit crazy, and then they managed to get the only flights out, actually on that day. I was glad they got out, but it was crazy,” recalled the KKR all-rounder on the Beard Before Wicket podcast.
Moeen is among the overseas cricketers who have refused to return to India after the IPL 2025 resumed on May 17 following the announcement of a ceasefire between India and Pakistan. The England all-rounder recalled his ‘crazy’ experience of being in India and said he was worried about flights getting cancelled.
“It was mad… Obviously, there were those attacks in Kashmir before everything really kicked off. Then within no time things just rapidly escalated and all of a sudden we’re in the middle. It felt like we were in the middle of a war, but we didn’t hear anything. All of a sudden you’re just scrambling to get out of the country and just to make sure, obviously, your family’s fine. People are worried about you back home and just to make sure they’re at ease as well,” Moeen said on the podcast.
“You don’t know exactly what’s going on, so that’s the scary bit… The thing that we were worried about was flights getting cancelled,” he added.
Moeen Ali left India before IPL was cancelled
Recalling the anxious time, Moeen revealed he decided to leave India even before the BCCI announced the suspension of IPL 2025 for a week. The England all-rounder said he was also not doing well and was down with a viral fever, which prompted him to leave for home even before a confirmation came on the suspension of the league.
“I was just out (of the IPL) before they even cancelled it, to be honest. I wasn’t well, so I was really sick at the same time. I reckon I had some viral thing or whatever it was. I was really, really bad, and I was just out. I was just making sure, like I was fit enough to just get out of there,” Moeen said on the podcast.
Moeen opted out of the remainder of IPL 2025 due to personal reasons. Three-time champions KKR are also missing the services of West Indies all-rounder Rovman Powell, who has decided to skip the remainder of the season to undergo surgery for his tonsils. KKR have roped in Madhya Pradesh leg-spinner Shivam Shukla as a replacement for Powell.
KKR crashed out of IPL 2025 on Saturday, May 17 after their clash against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru was washed out due to rain.
A Kolkata Knight Riders star revealed his parents were in Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir (PoK) when the Indian armed forces conducted strikes in the region as part of Operation Sindoor. IPL Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
