Moeen Ali is having the time of his life at the MS Dhoni-led Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the ongoing IPL 2021 season. After being released by the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), he was bought by CSK for a whopping 7 crore in the IPL 2021 Auction.
So far, he has justified his price tag with 133 runs in four games at a strike rate of 152.87. With the ball, Moeen has 4 scalps at an economy of 6.33. Despite his exploits, former England skipper Kevin Pietersen believes he can’t be a regular starter for the Three Lions.
“I don’t think he can be a regular starter, but he’s definitely somebody who can step in where there is an illness, injury or somebody needs a rest. He just happens to be playing in a fantastic era of English batsmen,” Pietersen wrote in his column for Betway.
“Look at the great Australian side around 20 years ago when guys like Mike Hussey and Damien Martyn were struggling to get in. But he’s a wonderful player. He’s three-dimensional, which I really like, and he’s proving how good a player he is at the moment.”
During England’s full-fledged tour of India earlier this year, the England team management was criticised for not using Moeen Ali. He played just 4 games – 1 Test, 3 ODIs – in the entire tour.
The 33-year-old need as much game time as possible, especially in the shortest format with the T20 World Cup scheduled to be held in India later in 2021. Talking about the CSK, the three-time champions will now take on RCB in Mumbai on Sunnday.