Moeen Ali and Adil Rashid speak out after IPL bans Harry Brook: 'It disrupts our plans. BCCI's motivations are questionable'

England cricket player Harry Brook was recently handed a two-year ban from participating in the Indian Premier League (IPL) by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) after he made a sudden decision to withdraw from the tournament. The BCCI cited their new IPL rule as the reason for imposing the ban, which means that Brook will not be eligible to enter the auction until 2028. This decision was backed by former England all-rounder Moeen Ali and bowler Adil Rashid.

Brook, who previously played for Sunrisers Hyderabad and was signed by Delhi Capitals in the mega auction last November, withdrew from IPL 2025, citing his commitments towards England cricket.

Speaking on the podcast "Beard Before Cricket," Moeen backed BCCI's decision to ban Brook, admitting that a lot of overseas players have been doing this for a long time. He also discussed the consequences IPL teams face when a player of Brook's stature pulls out of the league.

"It's not harsh. I kind of agree with it, in a way, because a lot of people do that," he said. "A lot of people have done it in the past, and then they come back in and they end up getting a better financial package, or whatever it is. And he kind of messes a lot of things up as well at the same time."

"I mean, it's messed his team up, obviously, by pulling out. Any team that loses Harry Brook is messed up a bit, and they've got to now rejig everything and stuff like that.

"Forget him for a second, but if you do pull out, the rule is that you get a ban unless it's for family reasons or… due to injury or something. If it's injury or something, it's different. But I think if you just pull out, then it's… I kind of agree with the teams. You actually mess a lot of stuff up.

"He's a top player. They've probably picked the team around him, and then all of a sudden, you're pulling out."

'BCCI is only trying to...'

Rashid, who was part of the panel, echoed Moeen's thoughts, saying that BCCI is only trying to take strict action against such practices to avoid them in the future.

He said: "They actually put that rule in place before, and then this happened. So, you know when you're going in, this is the rule. So when you put your name in, you know if you pull out, this is going to happen. So you know the consequences of it. So I don't think it's harsh.

"No, but if you pull out and you have, like you say, an injury or whatever, then I think that's where something like the rules may differ or change in that way.

"Not just him (Harry Brook), but… But this has been going on for, I don't know, for a little while, I reckon. Mo (Moeen Ali) has been in the IPL a lot longer, but in the past probably five, ten years, a lot of players have been selected generally and have pulled out. So that's why they're trying to stop it that way."

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