Moeen Ali, the England all-rounder, is going to miss the Chennai Super Kings’ (CSK) Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 opener against Kolkata Knight Riders on Saturday (March 26). CSK retained the 34-year-old Ali for Rs 8 crore, but he has not joined the four-time winners for the 2017 IPL season. After failing to obtain the visa required to fly to India for the IPL, the all-rounder is trapped in the United Kingdom.
Last year, Moeen scored 357 runs in 15 innings for CSK in the IPL, while also grabbing six wickets with his off-spin bowling in 15 games.
“He has still not got his visa. We have also got in touch with BCCI. BCCI is also working on it.
“We are expecting that it will be done in a day or two. This is the position as of today. I cannot say that it will be done today. But we are expecting that it can be cleared today.
“How many matches he will miss depends on when he comes in. Right now, he will miss the first game. Even if he comes tomorrow, he will not be able to play the first game. That is the position as of today. He is packed and ready. The minute he gets the visa, he will board the next flight to India,” CEO K.S Viswanathan in the CSK’s official page.
Moeen Ali, along with inspirational skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Ravindra Jadeja, and Ruturaj Gaikwad, was retained by CSK after a strong all-round performance that helped the franchise win its fourth IPL title.
Apart from Moeen, CSK will be without top bowler Deepak Chahar, who has been ruled out of the first half of the IPL owing to a right quadriceps injury sustained in Kolkata last month during the third and final T20 encounter.
Packed and Ready! 👀⏳
Read MOre ⬇️#WhistlePodu #Yellove 🦁💛— Chennai Super Kings (@ChennaiIPL) March 23, 2022
