Picture Credit: Twitter@chennaiIPL
Chennai Super Kings (CSK) star all-rounder Moeen Ali has recently reunited with his teammates for the ongoing 15th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL). The Chennai franchise shared a short clip where the English all-rounder was seen greeting his teammates and support staff.
Earlier, Ali’s arrival was delayed due to visa issues, due to which he missed their IPL 2022 opener against Kolkata Knight Riders on Saturday. The 34-year old cricketer landed in India on Thursday and had to undergo three-day mandatory isolation. Moeen joined the CSK squad late on Sunday evening. He was seen sharing a smile with former skipper Dhoni, sitting with the rest of the players. Both the player shook hands, and Dhoni greeted Ali with a smile. The CSK shared the clip of Ali greeting players with a caption, "Vanganna Vanakkangana! A Superfam welcome to Namma Mo Bhai!"
Earlier, CSK CEO informed that cricket’s apex body in the country also got involved in providing visa approval to Moeen Ali, and he would take the first flight from the UK to reach India. Moeen Ali is likely to feature for the Chennai squad in their second match against Lucknow Super Giants at the Brabourne Stadium on March 31. The defending champion started their title defence on a losing note as they went down to two-time champion Kolkata Knight Riders by six wickets.
KKR bowlers blew away CSK top-order after putting them in to bat. However, Dhoni scored a blistering half-century to guide CSK to a respectable total, which was insufficient to win the game. Even newly appointed skipper Ravindra Jadeja also contributed as he stitched an essential partnership with Dhoni. However, Stephen Flaming, the head coach of the Chennai franchise, stated that Dhoni’s performance was good news for the side and significant takeaways.
“But top-order needs to buckle up and perform. The depth we have in our batting is a positive, and certainly, MS getting run early in the tournament is a dangerous sign for the opponents,” Fleming said post-match. However, Fleming reiterated that the team needs a lot of improvement.