IPL 2018: Moeen Ali Admits To Have Played in IPL For Free

English all rounder Moeen Ali was brought by Royal Challengers Bangalore in the auction back in January. He was considered as one of the finest foreign spin all rounders in the world.

Ali has plenty of experience in international cricket and has played an active role in both tests and ODIs for England team. However, he still did not get the chance to play for RCB in this season’s IPL.

The veteran all rounder, who was bought for INR 1.7 crores by the franchise, is happy to play in the league without any salary. He revealed that he came to the league for experience and to share the dressing room with some great cricketers at the franchise.

“If you asked me to play in the IPL for free, I would have done. I literally would have come for the experience, especially with the players at RCB like Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers, Brendon McCullum and Quinton de Kock,” Ali told the reports at the Taj Hotel in Mumbai.

Moeen Ali remains only one of the two foreign players, who are yet to play for the team this season. New Zealand pacer Tim Southee is the other overseas player to warm the bench.

Ali Happy To Be Dropped In New Zealand Test Game

The 30-year old is an experienced campaigner for England in Test cricket. He has played plenty of games for his country and was successful across the world.

But Moeen Ali saw a huge dip in form during the Ashes series down under last December. But he was once again backed up by skipper Joe Root to play in New Zealand. Ali was dropped for the final Test game but he insists being happy of his exclusion.

“When I didn’t play the last Test in New Zealand it was a relief. I could have been dropped three Tests earlier – I probably should have been – but Joe said he sees me as a match-winner and, with 50 matches of experience; they wanted to give me a longer run. It was almost like: ‘Right, now I can actually work on my game and mentally have a break from the pressure of playing.’ When it’s my time again, I will be ready,” Moeen added.

Ali can be a valuable addition to the starting lineup, if he was to be picked. He can provide balance to the side with both bat and ball. But it remains to be seen if RCB management is ready to take a chance with the veteran all rounder.