Chennai Super Kings All-Rounder Moeen Ali Ruled Out Of IPL 2022 Opener vs KKR Due To Visa Delay

The Chennai Super Kings (CSK), defending champions of the Indian Premier League (IPL) crown have been dealt a blow as their England all-rounder Moeen Ali is set to miss their upcoming IPL 2022 tournament opener against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) on March 26 in Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.

If the unavailability of Deepak Chahar because of an injury was bound to weaken their attack and affect the composition of the four overseas players, the delay in Moeen Ali’s arrival has added to the headache.

Moeen Ali has been one of the best performers for the yellow army as in 15 matches, Ali picked 6 wickets and made 357 runs with the highest score of 58 at a strike-rate of 137.30 and hit 19 sixes and 31 fours for the MS Dhoni-led team.

It Is Not Clear When Moeen Ali Will Leave For Mumbai – CSK CEO Kasi Viswanathan

Moeen Ali is yet to join the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) camp in Surat because he hasn’t been issued a visa yet. It is understood that a detailed verification is currently underway, which is taking more than the usual time.

“We were expecting Moeen to join us by Monday but because of the delay in issuing a visa, it is not clear when he will leave for Mumbai. He submitted the visa application on February 28, but because of the verification process, there has been a delay. Unless he enters the bubble by Wednesday noon, it won’t be possible for him to play against Kolkata,” CSK CEO Kasi Viswanathan told The New Indian Express.

Though his absence is expected only for the game against Kolkata, it gives Chennai an option to try their other overseas picks. New Zealander Devon Conway is expected to open alongside Ruturaj Gaikwad. Ali’s absence also opens the door for Robin Uthappa to slot in at No 3.

CSK will also miss the services of Deepak Chahar for a healthy part of the IPL 2022 but they have decent backups in terms of Indian pacers like Mukesh Choudhary, Tushar Deshpande, KM Asif and Rajvardhan Hangargekar.

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