LAHORE: Pakistan cricketer Haider Ali has been cleared of rape allegations in the United Kingdom after investigators found insufficient evidence to pursue the case, Greater Manchester Police (GMP) and the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) confirmed on Wednesday.
Police sources said the investigation has been formally closed, and Ali, 24, is free to leave the country. He has collected his passport from the police station and may now travel at his discretion.
Ali was arrested on August 4 at the Spitfire County Cricket Ground in Kent after a British-Pakistani woman annaccused him of raping her at a Manchester hotel on July 23. She alleged a second meeting on August 1 in Ashford, before filing her complaint four days later.
During questioning, Ali consistently denied the accusations, insisting he knew the woman personally and considered her a friend. He described the claims as “false” and “shocking.” He was represented by Barrister Moeen Khan, a UK-based criminal law expert.
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) had provisionally suspended Ali during the investigation, in line with its code of conduct on criminal cases involving players. With the case now dismissed, Ali is expected to return to professional cricket.
Ali made his international debut in 2020 and has since played 35 T20 internationals and two ODIs, scoring 499 runs in the shortest format.
