Moeen Ali, the former England all-rounder, has slammed the BCCI over Mustafizur Rahman‘s snub from the IPL and, in a shocking statement, has blamed the ICC for being partial in the actions.
Bangladesh pacer Mustafizur Rahman has been snubbed from the IPL team Kolkata Knight Riders following the BCCI’s directive. Since then, the outrage has taken over international cricket as well, as the BCB announced its decision not to travel to India for the ICC T20 World Cup.
Moeen Ali, one of the former stars in the IPL who played for the Kolkata Knight Riders in the previous season, moved to the PCB-powered Pakistan Super League ahead of this season’s IPL auction. He recently finished a decent season in the ILT20 and is currently playing in the BPL, and has a strong opinion against Mustafizur’s snub from the IPL.
Moeen Ali slams Mustafizur Rahman’s IPL snub
The English all-rounder currently plays for the BPL franchise Sylhet Titans, and while speaking to bdnews24, he said that the recent incidents reflect a deeper crisis in global cricket.
“I honestly feel the solution might eventually look more like football,” Moeen said. “You have the World Cup, ICC events, maybe one or two big international series, and then the rest is franchise cricket. Because the game is already struggling with these issues, and then what happened to Mustafizur on top of that makes it even worse.”
He also reckoned that the Mustafizur issue is not just about one player, it’s about the entire nation. “I feel the worst for Mustafizur. He earned that contract through years of consistent performances. For his career, that was a massive opportunity,” opined the England star.
Moeen Ali also drops his opinion on ICC T20 World Cup participation for Bangladesh
Bangladesh had put forward a strong opinion on their participation in the ICC T20 World Cup. They denied travelling to India for the tournament and have instead asked the ICC to shift their matches to Sri Lanka, which has been denied by the International Board.
“I read today that Bangladesh might not go to India. I don’t blame Bangladesh at all. Whoever is dragging politics into cricket is doing something ridiculous. Cricket is different. People love the game, especially in the subcontinent. Fans want to see their favourite players,” he said.
The BCCI directive was issued after several political leaders and the masses in the country had prohibited the Bangladesh pacer from featuring in the Indian league and had issued threats to vandalize property and cause unrest if this happened, following the atrocities against Hindus in Bangladesh.
Moeen Ali blames the ICC for being partial
The ICC has turned down the proposal from the BCB, and in turn, they have proposed additional security if Bangladesh agrees to travel to India. They have cited logistical challenges as the prime factor that could affect the ICC T20 World Cup 2026.
Moeen Ali has opined against the ICC’s actions and has stated that the ICC is never neutral and always sides with a party. He took an indirect dig at Chairman Jay Shah, who was the former secretary of the BCCI.
“ICC is never neutral, but no one says anything about it. Because everyone knows who runs it,” Moeen Ali said. “This is just sad. It’s been happening for a long time, but nobody says anything. Pakistan faces it, Bangladesh faces it, and the ICC just watches,” he added.
Moeen Ali said, “ICC is never neutral, but no one says anything about it. Because everyone knows who runs it.” (BDNews24) pic.twitter.com/j1GrzeFcXN
— Sheri. (@CallMeSheri1_) January 7, 2026
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