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Former England all-rounder Moeen Ali, who is part of Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) squad, has revealed that his parents were in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir at the time when India launched Operation Sindoor to target terror camps in Pakistan. Ali recalled being glad that his parents flew back home but described the environment as crazy as he was worried about his parents' safety in Pakistan.
“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," Moeen said on the Beard Before Wicket podcast.
“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’re in the middle of a war, but obviously we didn’t hear anything (like missiles striking). 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," he added.
Moeen on his conversations with players
Moeen's last appearance for KKR was against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) on May 7 at Eden Gardens. The 37-year-old recalled his conversation with overseas and local players after the match between Punjab Kings (PBKS) and Delhi Capitals (DC) at HPCA Stadium, Dharamsala was cancelled midway as a precautionary measure as Pakistan attempted to attack India's airbases and cities.
“People weren’t quite sure what was happening and how things were like. I spoke to a lot of the guys. Some of the guys were like ‘there won’t be a war, everything will be fine. These things have happened before’. Some guys were like, ‘I think there’ll be a war, I think there’ll be some sort of retaliation or whatever you want to call it’. There’s so much lying going on, that it’s hard to believe people — the news outlets in particular and the journalists. You don’t know exactly what’s going on, so that’s the scary bit because you don’t know what’s exactly going on, you don’t know where to stand, you don’t know if things are going to kick off quickly. The thing that we were worried about is flights getting cancelled and we can’t get out. But it must be so hard for the local players or the guys who are Pakistani or Indians stuck in there not knowing what’s going to happen," Moeen explained.
KKR knocked out of playoffs race
Moeen did not return for the remainder of the IPL 2025. KKR are yet to name his replacement. Their first game on return was washed out due to rain at M.Chinnaswamy Stadium. KKR are now eliminated from the playoffs race. They will face Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in their last league stage clash against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) on May 25.
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