IPL 2022: CSK worried over the arrival of Moeen Ali due to visa delay

The Chennai Super Kings (CSK) team management is a tad worried due to the delay in the arrival of England cricketer Moeen Ali ahead of IPL 2022. The 34-year-old applied for his visa back on February 28 and is still waiting for clearance of his documents by the Indian High Commission in the United Kingdom (UK).

Prior to the mega auction that took place in Bangalore, the Super Kings retained Moeen for INR 8 crores. The Yellow Army has been having training camps in Surat for the last one month before the start of the season. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) was also said to be assisting CSK over the issue of Moeen Ali.

CSK CEO speak on Moeen Ali ahead of IPL 2022

CSK Chief Executive Kasi Viswanathan updated on the delay of Moeen’s visa arrival. “He had applied for his visa on February 28. It has been more than 20 days since the application was submitted. He has been a frequent traveller to India and yet he has not got the travel papers.

“We are hoping he will join the team soon. He has told us that he will take the very next flight after getting the papers,” Viswanathan said. Apart from Moeen, CSK also retained their skipper MS Dhoni and all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja. Back in 2021, the franchise bought Ali for INR 7 crores after he spent three seasons at the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB).

The four-time IPL champions are also worried over the availability of their star fast bowler Deepak Chahar. The pacer is currently recovering from a quadricep injury and has become uncertain at least for the first half of the T20 tournament.

Before the mega auction, CSK released Chahar, but bought him back at a price of INR 14 crores. Delhi Capitals (DC), Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) and Rajasthan Royals (RR) also tried to buy him, but CSK ended up bagging him. Chahar has been with the Super Kings since 2018 and has bowled a number of match-winning spells for them.

The Super Kings are set to start their campaign on March 26 against last year’s runners-up Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.