Former England all-rounder Moeen Ali has criticized the BCCI over the exclusion of Mustafizur Rahman from the IPL and in a shocking statement has accused the ICC of adopting a biased attitude.
Following the instructions of BCCI, Bangladesh fast bowler Mustafizur Rahman has been dropped from IPL team Kolkata Knight Riders. Since then, the outrage has spread to international cricket as well, as the BCB has announced its decision not to travel to India for the ICC T20 World Cup.
Moeen Ali, one of the former IPL stars who played for Kolkata Knight Riders last season, moved to the PCB-run Pakistan Super League ahead of this season’s IPL auction. He recently finished a good season in the ILT20 and is currently playing in the BPL, and has strong opinions against Mustafizur’s omission from the IPL.
Moeen Ali criticizes Mustafizur Rahman for being ignored in IPL
The English all-rounder currently plays for BPL franchise Sylhet Titans and speaking to bdnews24 he said that the recent events reflect the deep crisis in global cricket.
“I honestly feel the solution ultimately might look like football,” Moeen said. “You have the World Cup, ICC events, maybe one or two big international series, and then the rest of the franchise cricket. Because the game is already struggling with these issues, and then on top of that what happened with Mustafizur makes it even worse.”
He also believed that Mustafizur issue is not just of one player, it is of the entire country. The England star said, “I feel the worst for Mustafizur. He earned this contract through years of consistent performance. For his career, it was a big opportunity.”
Moeen Ali also gave his opinion on Bangladesh’s participation in ICC T20 World Cup
Bangladesh had expressed a strong opinion regarding its participation in the ICC T20 World Cup. They refused to travel to India for the tournament and instead asked the ICC to move their matches to Sri Lanka, which the international board rejected.
He said, “I read today that Bangladesh probably won’t go to India. I don’t blame Bangladesh at all. Anyone who 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 favorite players.”
The BCCI directive was issued after several political leaders and the public of the country banned the Bangladesh fast bowler from participating in the Indian league and threatened to damage property and create unrest if he did so following the atrocities against Hindus in Bangladesh.
Moeen Ali accused ICC of bias
The ICC has rejected BCB’s proposal and in return, they have offered additional security if Bangladesh agrees to travel to India. He cited logistics challenges as the major factor that could impact the ICC T20 World Cup 2026.
Moeen Ali has opined against the actions of the ICC and said that the ICC is never neutral and always takes sides of one party. He indirectly took a dig at president Jay Shah, who was a former BCCI secretary.
Moeen Ali said, “The ICC is never neutral, but no one says anything about it. Because everyone knows who runs it.” “It is very sad. This has been happening for a long time, but no one says anything. Pakistan faces it, Bangladesh faces it and the ICC just watches,” he said.
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
– Sherry. (@CallMeSheri1_) 7 January 2026
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