'Felt like we were in middle of a war': KKR star Moeen Ali says parents were in PoK during Operation Sindoor

Kolkata Knight Riders allrounder Moeen Ali shared his anxiety over the safety of his parents after India launched Operation Sindoor in retaliation to the devastating terrorist attack in Pahalgam of South Kashmir Moeen revealed that his parents were in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir PoK at the time the military operation commencedldquoMy parents were actually in Kashmir PoK at the timehellipin 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 crazyrdquoIn response to the April 22 attack Indian armed forces conducted precise airstrikes on terrorist infrastructure located in PoK and parts of Pakistan The subsequent escalation in hostilities between the two nucleararmed neighbours brought regional tensions to a boiling point and resulted in the suspension of the Indian Premier League IPL 2025 seasonAmid the escalating geopolitical crisis Moeen was among a group of overseas players who opted not to return to India even after the tournament resumed postceasefire Multiple foreign cricketers made the decision to return home following the outbreak of the conflictldquoIt 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 didnt hear anything like missiles striking All of a sudden youre just scrambling to get out of the country and just trying to make sure your familys fine People are worried about you back home and you just want to make sure theyre at ease as well he addedMoeen also described the uncertainty and confusion among players as the situation deteriorated Some dismissed the threat of an actual war while others feared severe retaliation and a fullblown military confrontationldquoPeople werent quite sure what was happening or how things were I spoke to a lot of the guys Some of them were like lsquoThere wont be a war everything will be fine These things have happened before Some guys were like lsquoI think therell be a war I think therell be some sort of retaliation or whatever you want to call it he saidThe England veteran emphasised that the greatest concern among overseas players was the potential suspension of flights amidst the chaosldquoTheres so much lying going on that its hard to believe people especially the news outlets and journalists You dont know exactly whats going on and thats the scary bit because you dont know where you stand You dont 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 whats going to happen he addedatOptionskeyd0ddb8ef8f1a62a8cdd22fac27fc5ea7formatiframeheight90width728params