Moeen Ali will not be taking part in the first match of Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the 15th edition of IPL due to no change in the visa status. Thus, CSK will have to manage without the England all-rounder on the opening day against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR).
Moeen Ali’s visa situation has not changed, and the England all-rounder is still detained at home in Birmingham, hoping to join the Chennai Super Kings of the Indian Premier League (IPL) in Mumbai. The 34-year-old, who sought for Indian travel documents about four weeks ago, has failed to receive approval from the Indian High Commission in London.
On this matter, Moeen’s father Munir Ali was quite unhappy, he said
“It’s terrible but we can’t do anything. Moeen has played in India a good few times so I don’t see why (has not been granted the visa yet). We are hoping he will get the visa soon,”
With the IPL kicking off on March 26 and newcomers being required to undergo a 3-day quarantine, Moeen’s involvement in CSK’s first match appears to be extremely unlikely. The defending champions, CSK, will face Kolkata Knight Riders in the opening match on Saturday.
Franchise CEO also commented on unavailability of Moeen Ali
The CEO of CSK, Kasi Viswanathan said
“He (Ali) is certainly ruled out for the first game,”
“We were confident he would get the papers on Monday (March 21). Even if he gets today (Wednesday, March 23), he can reach only tomorrow (March 24) and go into quarantine. He will miss the first game but we are hoping he gets the visa soon enough. We have spoken to Jay Shah (the Board of Control for Cricket in India secretary) and other IPL officials. They are doing their best too, to help us.”
The franchise paid INR 8 crore to keep Moeen. A request to the Indian High Commission in London went unanswered until the time of publication.
Thus, CSK will have to deal with the situation as they look to kick off their new campaign with a victory.
