Chennai dealt with massive blow as star player ruled out of first game

In what comes as sad news for all Chennai fans, Moeen Ali is all set to miss the first game of the Indian T20 League. March 26 will see Chennai take on Kolkata in the first game of the 15th edition of Indian T20 league. However, the English all-rounder unfortunately won't be a part of it.

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His arrival had been delayed due to a visa issue. Ali is still in England as he hasn't got his visa approved by the Indian High Commission in London. According to a report by Cricbuzz, he applied for his visa about four weeks ago, but the same has not been approved yet. His dad expressed his disappointment over the same. He mentioned the fact that Ali has played in India on numerous occasions and this delay is beyond acceptable.

"It's terrible but we can't do anything. Moeen has played in India a good few times so I don't see why he has not been granted the visa yet. We are hoping he will get the visa soon," said Moeen Ali's father Munir Ali. 

Even if Ali departs for India today, he will have to serve three-day quarantine. Due to this, there is no way that he play Chennai's first game on Saturday. Thus, the defending champions will have to play another overseas player in his place for their fixture against Kolkata.

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It is to be noted that Ali played a crucial role in ensuring that the Chennai-based franchise win its fourth title. While batting at three, he played some crucial cameos and also bowled some noteworthy spells as well. This prompted the franchise to retain him for INR 8 crore ahead of the mega auction.

 Chennai fans were excited to watch him feature in the first game of their team but alas, things haven't really gone according to plan. In the meanwhile, even Abdul Naim, who happens to be one of Gujarat's coaching staff members, is yet to arrive in India due to the same issues. As far as Ali is concerned, Chennai's CEO Kasi Vishwanath said they are doing their best to get Ali's visa approved.

"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," said Kasi Vishwanath.