Revealed: Why Moeen Ali, Rovman Powell ditched KKR and refused to return for IPL 2025?

In a colossal blow for the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), the veteran England National Cricket Team all-rounder Moeen Ali and the star West Indies National Cricket Team player Rovman Powell have refused to return for IPL 2025.

On Thursday, May 15, the real reason behind Moeen Ali and Rovman Powell's refusal to participate in the final leg of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 was officially revealed.

Also Read: Mumbai Indians rope in Sri Lanka captain for IPL 2025 playoffs

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KKR struggling in IPL 2025

The defending champions, Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), have struggled to deliver a good performance in the ongoing season of the Indian Premier League (IPL).

Ahead of the 2025 mega auction, they managed to retain a core group of players for the next three years, but failed to rope in the services of 'captain' Shreyas Iyer, opener Phil Salt, and pacer Mitchell Starc.

The absence of the overseas duo, along with the excellent skipper like Shreyas Iyer, seems to have hurt the franchise as they have not displayed the dominance they showed in the previous season.

Another thing that came as a blow for them was the departure of 'mentor' Gautam Gambhir, whose presence in the KKR camp boosted the morale of the players last year and helped the franchise clinch the title after a decade.

So far, the Ajinkya Rahane-led Kolkata Knight Riders have played 12 matches in the Indian Premier League 2025 and have won five matches, lost six games, and one match was washed out. They have 11 points and a Net Run Rate of 0.193.

Moeen Ali and Rovman Powell refuse to return for IPL 2025

As the IPL 2025 is all set to resume after a 7-day suspension, things are only about to get tougher for the three-time champions as Moeen Ali and Rovman Powell refused to participate in the rest of the competition.

According to a TOI journalist, Moeen Ali will not be returning to India because he wants to stay with his family, who are down with a viral infection. On the other hand, Rovman Powell is dealing with an injury and is set to undergo a procedure, which rules him out of the tournament.

"All @KKRiders Players and Support Staff have in Bangalore, except Rovman Powell & Moeen Ali. Both Powell and Ali couldn’t come back due to medical reasons. Rovman is undergoing a procedure, while Moeen and his family are down with a viral infection @IPL," the TOI journalist wrote on his official X handle.

JUST in: All @KKRiders Players and Support Staff have in Bangalore, except Rovman Powell & Moeen Ali. Both Powell and Ali couldn’t come back due to medical reasons. Rovman is undergoing a procedure, while Moeen and his family are down with a viral infection @IPL

— Gaurav Gupta (@toi_gauravG) May 15, 2025

KKR are all but out of the IPL 2025 playoffs race, as even if they win their final two matches of the league, they will only reach 15 points, which might not be enough for qualification this time around.

KKR's arch-rivals backed to win the IPL 2025 by Mohammad Kaif

Meanwhile, in an interaction with IANS, former India batter Mohammad Kaif backed the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) to win the Indian Premier League 2025.

“If we talk about RCB as a team, they have been fantastic. I am emphasising the word ‘team’ because they have always been a batting-heavy team, but this time Rajat Patidar has done a fantastic job of using his bowlers, restricting opponents while defending 170-180," Kaif said as quoted by IANS.

"Kohli has continued doing what he does best… but the bowlers have given them the belief that they can win. The team with the best all-round side usually has the best chance, so I do believe they can win it this year,” Kaif added.