Moeen Ali has criticised the International Cricket Board (ICC) for letting India bully Pakistan and Bangladesh. The former England cricketer thinks the ICC, currently headed by former Board of Control of Cricket in India (BCCI) Secretary Jay Shah, hasn’t made an attempt to fix things and has let BCCI run amok.
Sympathy with Mustafizur Rahman
After public backlash, the BCCI had instructed the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) to release Mustafizur Rahman for the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026. The relationship between India and Bangladesh has worsened ever since Sheikh Hasina was ousted as Bangladesh’s Prime Minister in August 2024, and cricket is paying the price for it.
“The game is already in a bit of danger regarding these things, and then on top of that, what happened with Mustafizur… Honestly, something isn’t right here. Something needs to be done to fix things because it’s not just about Mustafizur. Pakistan, Bangladesh—we all know various issues are going on. It can’t go on like this. These are big problems.
More than anything else, I feel bad for Mustafizur. He got such a good contract, and considering his career, his years of skillful performance and journey, he finally got something so good… He could have been in another team, but KKR got him… and honestly, he is the one suffering more than anyone,” Moeen told bdnews24.
BCCI bullying for cricket boards
The former KKR player doesn’t blame the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) for refusing to send their team to India for the T20 World Cup 2026, because they are retaliating for what the BCCI has done by virtually banning Bangladeshi cricketers from the IPL.
Moeen pointed out that BCCI had been dominating world cricket before Shah became the ICC Chairman. He pointed out that Australia and England, the other two biggest cricket boards, have no say in decision-making. That people in power keep agendas over the game.
“I read today that Bangladesh (is not going to India)… and stopped the (IPL) broadcast. Actually… I’m not blaming Bangladesh. But whoever is doing these things, whoever is dragging these issues in, it’s a very rubbish thing to do because cricket is different. People play and love cricket, especially in the subcontinent. People love to see their favourite cricketers, and if Fizz had played for KKR, it would have been great for Bangladesh and its people. Not just here, but for the Bengalis there too. So, it’s disappointing. Just a bad situation. This has been happening for a long time, but no one says anything. It’s like everyone sees it but ignores it. This keeps happening with Pakistan, and the ICC just…
The ICC is never like that. That’s the truth. But no one says anything. Everyone knows who runs it… Shouldn’t countries like Australia and England play a role here? They don’t say anything either. They should. But that’s how the whole world is working. Not just in cricket or politics, but everywhere. Everyone has their own agenda, and as long as they are fine, they don’t care about anything else,” Moeen added.
