“It would be a massive shame” - Moeen Ali warns Indian-owned The Hundred teams over Pakistan players boycott

Former England all-rounder Moeen Ali was extremely unhappy with the reports of the four Indian-owned franchises in The Hundred considering not picking any Pakistani cricketers amid the ongoing tensions between India and Pakistan.

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Speaking exclusively to The Telegraph Sport, Ali stated that such discriminatory behaviour has no place in the UK and requested the officials to make sure that such things don’t take place in the auction.

Notably, Manchester Super Giants, MI London, Southern Brave and Sunrisers Leeds are currently owned by Indian owners. Moeen went on to add that it would be a massive shame if Pakistan players miss out, adding that the ECB will definitely have a look at it.

"In the UK, I'm not sure that can happen - and I hope it doesn't happen. It just shouldn't happen, hopefully it won't happen. We just have to wait and see if it does, but I think it'd be a massive shame, and I'm sure the ECB will definitely keep an eye out,” Moeen told Telegraph Sport.

"There'll be a group of players that will speak up. There'll be things done about it. I think players should speak up. Anyone that has any sort of concern for these kind of things - it doesn't matter if they have Pakistani heritage - should speak up,” he added.

"Obviously, the news is very new. So I've not really had a chance to speak to anyone, but most of the players would be on the same page. It'd be really interesting to see what happens, because I genuinely think other countries can do what they want, obviously we're not in control of those things, but in the UK, we have a bit more say about these things,” he concluded.

Notably, the Indian Premier League franchises haven’t seen a Pakistani player signed since the first season, following terror attacks in Mumbai in November 2008. In the ILT20 2025-26 auction, American-owned Desert Vipers were the only franchise to have signed Pakistan players.

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