IPL 2022: Moeen Ali yet to secure India visa, likely to miss CSK’s opener against KKR. Says report

Defending champions Chennai Super Kings may miss the services of Moeen Ali for the IPL 2022 opener as the star England all-rounder is yet to receive his India visa for the 15th edition of the lucrative T20 tournament starting in Mumbai on Saturday. CSK, four-time IPL champions, will take on last edition’s runner-up side Kolkata Knight Riders in the first game of the current year’s IPL at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Saturday.

“It is learned that Moeen would need to arrive in Mumbai by Wednesday to stand a chance of playing his team’s first match against 2021 runners-up Knight Riders,” a report in ‘ESPNcricinfo’ stated.

“Considering that Moeen would need to undergo the mandatory three-day quarantine to enter the IPL bio-secure environment, Super Kings’ management has accepted that the chances of him playing the opening match appear remote,” the report added.

The report further expresses that assuming Moeen fails to arrive on schedule, New Zealand batter Devon Conway is likely to make his IPL debut.

“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,” it read.