Off-spinning all-rounder Ali played an instrumental part in England reaching the ICC World T20 final in India, where they lost to the West Indies in the decider at Eden Gardens in Kolkata.
But after travelling back to the UK, Ali arrived at Birmingham airport on Saturday to rejoin his county Worcestershire ahead of the local England season.
Ali took to Twitter (@MoeenAli) to vent his frustration, saying that he had never been through a similar experience when part of the England squad. “Have never been stopped at the airport when travelling with a team in uniform, but travel alone and get stopped for 40 minutes!! Joke”, he tweeted, adding later: “Birmingham airport!! Hard times.”
Ali, a devout Muslim who was incidentally born in Birmingham and is of Pakistani origin, was supported by fellow English internationals Adil Rashid and Owais Shah, with the latter saying on Twitter that “your beard might have something to do with it #sadreally”.
Birmingham airport officials suggested to The Independent that Ali was stopped as he had apparently failed to declare that he had “exceeded his duty-free allowance”.
