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Mint
20-05-2025
- Sport
- Mint
Rohit Sharma naturally gifted but didn't work on fitness like Virat Kohli, says KKR star
Moeen Ali has lauded Rohit Sharma after the Mumbai Indian veteran announced his retirement from the Indian Test team. Calling him a 'natural player', the Kolkata Knight Riders all-rounder paid tributes to Sharma's batsmanship. 'Rohit was a more natural player in terms of, like, amazing to watch. Like a proper gift given to him. When I say natural, everything looks a lot smoother. He was a top player. "There was a period of time where he was probably the most talented player in the world, naturally," Ali said on the Beard Before Wicket podcast. However, Ali did allude to Sharma's limits due fitness, which many have raised over the years, and stated how Virat Kohli, who also recently retired from Test cricket, is ahead in that department. "Like probably didn't do the work in terms of fitness and stuff as Virat but still as effective. Would probably hit the ball further," Ali added on the podcast. The two Indian legendary batsmen called time on their career in the longest format of the game earlier this month ahead of India's tour of England. The 38-year-old MI batsman represented India in 67 Tests and scored 4,301 runs while 36-year-old Kohli called time on his illustrious Test career after 123 Tests and 9,230 runs. As India prepares to embark on a five-Test series to England, which begins on June 20, the Test squad will need to fill massive gaps with the duo retiring. While the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) have not made any official announcement yet, multiple reports suggest Gujarat Titans' star batsman Shubman Gill is expected to take over the reigns from Sharma. The 38-year-old was the Indian Test captain when he announced his retirement. The BCCI will also have to fill the big shoes of Kohli, who was a mainstay at number 4 for the better part of a decade. Kohli's retirement also contributes to the leadership vaccum in the Indian Test team as he as Sharma's predecessor as captain. Stay updated on all the action from the IPL 2025. Check the IPL 2025 Schedule, track the latest IPL 2025 Points Table, and follow the top performers with the Orange Cap and Purple Cap.
Mint
19-05-2025
- Sport
- Mint
IPL 2025: ‘My parents were in PoK' - Moeen Ali recalls ‘crazy' experience during Indo-Pak military escalations
Kolkata Knight Riders' Moeen Ali recalled a harrowing experience his family endured during the military escalations between India and Pakistan. The English all-rounder is amongst the few foreign players who have not returned for the resumption of the Indian Premier League. Speaking to the Beard Before Wicket podcast, Ali revealed his parents were close to the action during Operation Sindoor. '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,' Ali said on the podcast. Ali also spoke of his exit from India after tensions between the two neighbouring countries escalated. He revealed that he left a day before the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) decided to suspend the IPL, which happened on 9 May. 'So the night before they cancelled it… I'm one of those who don't care what we're playing in the IPL or the PSL. What's important is to be safe. Or try to be as safe as possible. I mean, you're never safe anywhere in the world. But try to obviously protect your family and kids as much as you can. All that kind of stuff, and just make sure everything's good. 'I was just out (of the tournament) before they even cancelled it, to be honest. To be honest, I wasn't well, so I was really sick at the same time. So 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,' he added. Ali's IPL franchise is out of contention for a spot in the playoffs after their match against the Royal Challengers Bengaluru was rained out and declared a no-result. They currently sit sixth in the table with 12 points from 13 matches and could potentially slide further below with just one game left for them in the league stage. Their final game is against fellow eliminated side Sunrisers Hyderabad on 25 May, Sunday, at the Arun Jaitley stadium in New Delhi. Stay updated on all the action from the IPL 2025. Check the IPL 2025 Schedule, track the latest IPL 2025 Points Table, and follow the top performers with the Orange Cap and Purple Cap.
NDTV
19-05-2025
- Sport
- NDTV
KKR Star Moeen Ali Says "Parents Were In PoK" When Operation Sindoor Began
Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) all-rounder Moeen Ali has shared moments of anxiety for his family when India launched 'Operation Sindoor' in response to the Pahalgam terror attack. The Indian armed forces launched precision strikes targeting terrorist bases in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (PoK) and Pakistan. In the India-Pakistan conflict that followed, the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 season was halted. Moeen is among the overseas cricketers who decided against returning to India as the IPL Season 18 resumed following a ceasefire between India and Pakistan. He has revealed that his parents were in the PoK region when Operation Sindoor started. 'My parents were actually in Kashmir (PoK) at the time… in Pakistan, only about an hour away from where the strikes happened, probably. Maybe a bit farther," Moeen said on the Beard Before Wicket podcast. "It was a bit crazy, and then they managed to get the only flights out on that day. I was glad they got out, but it was crazy.' Many overseas cricketers decided to return to their countries after hostilities between India and Pakistan escalated. '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 were in the middle of it. It felt like we were 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 trying to make sure your family's fine. People are worried about you back home, and you just want to make sure they're at ease as well. 'People weren't quite sure what was happening or how things were. I spoke to a lot of the guys. Some of them 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,'" he said. The former England all-rounder said that he was most worried about the cancellation of flights as the overseas players desperately wanted to leave. 'There's so much lying going on that it's hard to believe people, especially the news outlets and journalists. You don't know exactly what's going on, and that's the scary bit, because you don't know where you stand. You don't know if things are going to escalate quickly. The thing we were most worried about was flights getting cancelled and not being able to get out. "But it must be so much harder for the local players or for guys who are Pakistani or Indian, stuck there not knowing what's going to happen.'
Time of India
19-05-2025
- Sport
- Time of India
'Having a Pakistani background...': Ex-England cricketer recalls India-Pakistan conflict
Kolkata: KKR cricketers Manish Pandey, Varun Chakravarthy, Moeen Ali, Sunil Narine and Quinton de Kock during a practice session ahead of the IPL match between Kolkata Knight Riders and Gujarat Titans, at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata. (PTI Photo/Swapan Mahapatra) England all-rounder Moeen Ali , currently representing Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the Indian Premier League (IPL), shared his experience of being in India when the IPL 2025 season came to a standstill amid escalating hostilities between India and Pakistan. "I'm one of those who doesn't care whether we're playing in the IPL or the PSL. What's important is to be safe — or try to be as safe as possible. I mean, you're never completely safe anywhere in the world, but you try to protect your family and kids as much as you can," Moeen Ali said on the Beard Before Wicket podcast . Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW! Moeen Ali, who has Pakistani roots, praised the KKR franchise for taking excellent care of the players. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Ready to Live in 2, 3 & 4 BHK from ₹3.60 Cr* in Sec 22 Ambience Creacions, Gurugram Learn More Undo 'They looked after us really well. They were like, 'Whatever you want, whatever you need, we'll try and support you as much as we can.' So they were amazing in that regard — but it was crazy, man," he said. Bombay Sport Exchange Ep 5: Shane Watson on IPL, India-Australia rivalry | Part 1 "It's crazy to be… not directly in the middle of it, because you don't experience anything firsthand, but it's happening around you, just around the corner. Obviously, having a Pakistani background and being in India while this is happening... "I genuinely believe these are the same people, just split by borders — exactly the same people. Good people on both sides. The amazing food is the same, everything's the same,' said Moeen Ali. Who's that IPL player? The England all-rounder also said that the India-Pakistan tension served as a distraction from the ongoing crisis in Gaza. 'I'm a bit of a conspiracy theorist. I think it was more of a distraction, or it was more like an America-versus-China situation in terms of weapons — just to see what's happening a little bit. There are a lot of theories about these things. I think it's a distraction from what's actually happening in Israel and Gaza,' Moeen said. Get IPL 2025 match schedules , squads , points table , and live scores for CSK , MI , RCB , KKR , SRH , LSG , DC , GT , PBKS , and RR . Check the latest IPL Orange Cap and Purple Cap standings.
Hindustan Times
19-05-2025
- Sport
- Hindustan Times
Moeen Ali freaked out, 'parents were in PoK' where Indian missiles struck as he was 'scrambling' to get out of India
Moeen Ali was among the few overseas players who did not return to India when the 2025 season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) resumed on May 17. He was in India earlier this month for the IPL amid the escalating tension with Pakistan, while his parents were stuck in Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir (PoK) at the same time, which was quite unnerving. Moeen was originally part of the Kolkata Knight Riders set-up in the IPL 2025. He was in India with his wife and children when the tournament was suspended on May 9 after the match between Punjab Kings and Delhi Capitals was halted midway through the first innings in Dharamsala after blackouts in certain north and north-western parts of the country. Taking on the Beard Before Wicket podcast, Moeen revealed that his parents were in PoK, about an hour away from where Indian missiles had struck as part of Operation Sindoor. He admitted that it freaked him out, but they eventually got out of Pakistan on the last flights available. "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," he said. Moeen also opened up on his own experience in India during that time, finding himself in the midst of chaos, and he scrambled to get out of the country with his family. He said: "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." The former England all-rounder, who had announced his retirement in September 2024, said that he managed to leave India even before the tournament got suspended. "So the night before they cancelled it… I'm one of those who doesn't care what we're playing in the IPL or the PSL. What's important is to be safe. Or try and be as safe as possible. I mean you're never safe anywhere in the world. But try to obviously protect your family and kids as much as you can. All that kind of stuff and just make sure everything's good. I was just out (of the tournament) before they even cancelled it to be honest. To be honest I wasn't well, so I was really sick at the same time. So 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," said Moeen.
