Moeen Ali wishes he had stayed longer as his four-match Janakpur Bolts stint nears its end

Moeen Ali has revealed he is with Janakpur Bolts for only their first four NPL matches, and the two-time World Cup winner admits he already wishes the stay was longer.

A four-match stay

Moeen Ali did not hide his feelings after Janakpur Bolts recorded their first win of the season. The former England all-rounder, unbeaten on 58 as Janakpur chased down Kathmandu Gorkhas in Match 5 on Thursday, stressed that he was with the squad only for the first four matches. “Now, I am thinking I wish I stayed a bit longer,” Ali said with a grin.

Moeen has already played two of those four matches: the opening defeat to Karnali Yaks, in which he made 19, and the eight-wicket win over Kathmandu, in which he anchored the chase. Two matches remain in the stint: Pokhara Avengers on Sunday, 1 November, and, in Match 12, Biratnagar Kings on Tuesday, 3 November. After that, Janakpur must carry on without the most decorated player in their squad.

Short overseas stays are common in franchise cricket, but they still bite. Moeen does more than fill a batting slot: he steadies a chase, offers off-spin and sets a standard for younger players. Janakpur knew the length of the deal when they signed him, yet hearing the player himself wish it were longer underlines what the franchise is about to lose.

The unbeaten 58 that showed his value

Thursday's innings was exactly what Janakpur signed Moeen for. Chasing 116 at the TU Ground in Kirtipur, Janakpur slipped to 37 for two before Moeen and Saif Hassan took control, sharing an unbroken 79-run partnership. Moeen finished unbeaten on 58 off 51 balls, with three fours and three sixes, while Hassan made 40 not out off 39.

The bowlers had set up the chase: Kathmandu, batting first after winning the toss, were bowled out for 115 in 19.3 overs, with Rahul Yadav taking four for 31. But Moeen's calm at 37 for two was the difference between a wobble and a collapse.

That composure comes from a long career at the top level: Moeen won the 2019 ODI World Cup and the 2022 T20 World Cup with England before retiring from internationals in 2024. He promised supporters he would give his all when he joined ahead of Season 3. Two matches in, the promise has held.

Praise for Rahul Yadav

Moeen's most telling contribution on Thursday may have come after the match, in his praise for the teenager who had outshone him. “He [Yadav] is really really good,” Ali said. “Everytime he seems to come up to bowl, he gets a wicket in the first ball… I didn't know until someone told me — after the last game — that he is gonna be the next Malinga of Nepal. If he stays fit and humble, it will be very good for Nepal.”

Yadav, a talent-hunt find from Madhesh Province, had taken two wickets on debut against Karnali. Against Kathmandu he struck with the first ball of each of his first two overs, then took two wickets in consecutive balls in the 17th over to finish with four for 31. Harmeet Singh had already called Yadav the “next big thing” of Nepali cricket after the Karnali game; Moeen's endorsement carries its own weight.

For Janakpur, that mentorship is what a short overseas stint is supposed to deliver: Moeen will not be around for the run-in, but the belief he leaves behind in a 17-year-old who now bowls with the crowd chanting his name may outlast his four matches. The full story of Yadav's breakthrough is covered in Rahul Yadav's rise as Janakpur's newest sensation.

What Janakpur lose when he leaves

Moeen has batted at the top of the order and bowled off-spin, giving Harmeet Singh balance in both disciplines from one overseas slot. Once the Biratnagar match is done, Janakpur must fill that slot from elsewhere: New Zealand all-rounder Jimmy Neesham sat out the Kathmandu match for personal reasons, with Saif Hassan taking his place.

The timing is awkward: Janakpur's first two matches produced one win and one defeat, while Karnali Yaks have won their first two, and the points table is already taking shape around them. The fixtures after Moeen's departure will test whether Janakpur's local core, led by Harmeet Singh and the emerging Yadav, can carry the side without its most experienced head. The schedule offers no soft landing: as the eight-run and one-ball finishes of the first week showed, the margins are thin.

His own regret at leaving so soon is the clearest measure of what Moeen has given Janakpur: a player who arrived for four matches and leaves wishing for more has found something worth staying for.

The wider overseas shuffle

Moeen's brief stay is a reminder of how fragile overseas availability has been across this NPL season. Franchises have already adapted to late arrivals, with some big names yet to reach Kathmandu. The busy global calendar means few overseas players can commit to a full tournament, and teams that plan around a short stint, as Janakpur have with Moeen, at least know where they stand.

Janakpur's handling of the situation has been pragmatic. Saif Hassan stepped in for Neesham against Kathmandu and finished unbeaten on 40, while Yadav's emergence has given the bowling attack a local spearhead. The question is whether that pragmatism holds when Moeen's experience leaves after 3 November. Janakpur's Match 5 victory, covered in full in Janakpur's eight-wicket win over Kathmandu, showed a team growing into the tournament. The next two matches will show whether it can keep growing without the player who steadied its first win.