Ahead of their opening encounter against Kolkata, Chennai were dealt with a massive blow as star all-rounder Moeen Ali was ruled out of the match after failing to get his visa approval. Chennai was concerned about Ali’s arrival in India as he is one of the key players for the franchise. Chennai CEO Kasi Vishwanath had said that they are trying their level best to get the formalities completed.
“He is certainly ruled out for the first game. We were confident he would get the papers on Monday. 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 the BCCI secretary Jay Shah and other ITL officials. They are doing their best too, to help us,†Kasi Vishwanath had said.
However, in a piece of positive news for the team, Ali has received his Visa and is set to join the franchise soon. Moeen Ali is expected to arrive in India on Monday before undergoing three-day quarantine. However, he will be out of quarantine before Chennai’s second game against Lucknow on the 31st of March and will be available for selection. The news of Moeen Ali getting his papers was confirmed by Cricbuzz. “He picked up his papers yesterday and is ready to fly,â€- said Munir Ali, Moeen’s father as quoted by Cricbuzz.
Moeen had applied for Visa about four weeks ago but the Indian High Commission in London didn’t approve the same, leaving Moeen stuck in Birmingham. The all-rounder is one of the key players for the franchise. He was retained by Chennai ahead of the mega auction. The MS Dhoni-led side will open their campaign against Kolkata on March 26.
