IPL 2025: "It's not harsh" - Moeen Ali, Adil Rashid leave Harry Brook to rot after his ban

England's star cricketer Harry Brook decided to pull out of the entire IPL 2025 season just a few days before it was about to begin. Brook's decision to pull out at the last moment forced the BCCI to apply a mandatory two-year ban on him which will be applicable for the next two years.

While BCCI's decision to ban Harry Brook was criticized by some, it has now received some support from former England allrounder Moeen Ali and his good friend Adil Rashid. Moeen admitted that the decision wasn't harsh and understood the importance of it.

Rashid also recalled a no. of times when overseas players have pulled out at the last moment which makes it difficult for the franchises to reshuffle their plans. Both of them agreed that the rules were put in place right before the auction, so they cannot be termed wrong.

Also read: IPL 2025: Not KL Rahul! Ex-RCB skipper named Delhi Capitals vice-captain

"You actually mess a lot of stuff" - Moeen Ali

While speaking during a podcast "Beard Before Cricket", Moeen Ali backed BCCI's decision to ban Harry Brook and disagreed to call it a harsh decision. He understood the implications of the earlier rule where the players would pull out at the last moment, resulting in the teams facing a lot of problems.

"It's not harsh. I kind of agree with it, in a way, because a lot of people do that. 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," Moeen said.

"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," he added.

Moeen Ali backs the decision to ban Harry Brook

The former England allrounder claims that the rule was already in place and the BCCI is right in banning the players. He feels that the sudden pull-out of such a top player messes a lot of things for a franchise.

"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," said Moeen.

"You actually mess a lot of stuff up. He's (Harry Brook) a top player. They've probably picked the team around him, and then all of a sudden, you're pulling out," the former England skipper added.

Adil Rashid backs BCCI's decision

Adil Rashid, who was also in the same podcast, agreed with Moeen Ali and feels that the players knew about this rule when going into the auction. Hence, he disagreed to call the decision a harsh one.

"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," said Rashid.

"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," he remarked.

Harry Brook was signed by Delhi Capitals for INR 6.25 crore in the IPL 2025 mega auction. However, he decided to pull out of the season, mainly because of the workload pressure after Jos Buttler's resignation as England's white-ball captain.

Being the team's vice-captain, Brook was spoken about England's white-ball captaincy by the managing director Rob Key. He is the frontrunner to lead the team in the white-ball formats, although the decision is yet to be announced.