Moeen Ali ruled out of CSKs campaign opener against KKR. Find why?

Chennai Super Kings (CSK) all-rounder Moeen
Ali has been ruled out of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 season opener
against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), which is scheduled to be played at the
Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Saturday. The England all-rounder is yet to
receive his India visa to play in the IPL.

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“It is almost certain that Moeen Ali
wil miss the first game. He has still not got the visa. We are on it as well as
BCCI. Hope it is sorted in a day or two,” CSK CEO Kasi Viswanathan
confirmed the development to news agency PTI.

“It is disappointing that he has not
bee able to join us. They follow set procedures for players with Pakistan
descent. That looks like the reason (for delay).”

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Chennai Super Kings are the defending
champions of IPL. They will play last season’s runners-up KKR in the opening
match.

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Viswanathan said even if he manages to
reach India by Thursday, Ali will be unavailable for the opener because of the
quarantine protocol laid down by the IPL organisers.

“There is three-day mandatory
quarantine which Moeen has to undergo before joining the IPL bio-bubble. So he
will be out of the first game even if he gets his visa today or tomorrow.”

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Because of his fine all-round show which
helped the team lift its fourth IPL title, Moeen was retained by CSK alongside
inspirational captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Ravindra Jadeja and Ruturaj
Gaikwad.

In IPL 2021, he was the third-highest
scorer for Super Kings, hitting 357 runs in 15 innings at an average of
25.50 and strike rate of 137.30. That Moeen fulfilled his role of the aggressor
could be seen from the fact that he was fifth on the list of batters with most
sixes, with his count at 19.

Also Read: England batter Jason Roy pulls out of IPL 2022 over bubble fatigue

Now, in Moeen’a absence Super Kings could
hand an IPL debut to New Zealand batter Devon Conway and pair him up with
Ruturaj Gaikwad and Robin Uthappa in the top order. The Super Kings will likely
feel the pinch in their first match, considering Moeen’s off-spin would have
been handy against Knight Riders’ trio of left-handers: Venkatesh Iyer, Nitish
Rana and Sunil Narine.