‘Parents were in PoK…’: KKR Star player recalls being freaked out for his family during India-Pakistan border conflicts

Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) star allrounder Moeen Ali has shared insights about the information that his family when Indian Armed Forces initiated ‘Operation Sindoor’. The Indian Army launched precise strikes while targeting terrorist bases in Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK) and Pakistan.

During the India-Pakistan border conflicts that were commenced, the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 was suspended. Moeen Ali was one of the overseas cricketers who made up his mind to not return to India, has revealed how his parents were in PoK when Operation Sindoor was initiated. He also spoke about how the whole situation was ‘crazy’, but they managed to leave safely.

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“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,” he added.

Speaking about the situation at the time, Moeen Ali said there was only the initial attack in Kashmir, and then in no time things escalated a lot. He also said that the situation felt like being in the middle of a war, and suddenly everyone was just trying to hurry up and leave for their house.

“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,” he explained.

“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.

KKR have been eliminated from the race to playoffs, as their clash against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) on May 17 was washed off at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. Their next match is against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) on May 25.