England all-rounder Moeen Ali may very well miss the opening match of the IPL 2022 on March 26 between his team the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), to be played at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.

This is because he is yet to be approved for a visa for his India travel as ESPNCricinfo reported that the England allrounder is stranded in the UK. It is learned that Moeen would need to arrive in Mumbai by Wednesday to stand a chance of playing his team's first match against their IPL 2021 final opponents.

Considering that Moeen would need to undergo the mandatory three-day quarantine to enter the IPL bio-secure environment, Super Kings' management has accepted that the chances of him playing the opening match appear remote.

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It is understood that a detailed verification is currently underway, which is taking more than the usual time.

"We were expecting Moeen to join us by Monday but because of the delay in issuing a visa, it is not clear when he will leave for Mumbai. He submitted the visa application on February 28, but because of the verification process, there has been a delay. Unless he enters the bubble by Wednesday noon, it won't be possible for him to play against Kolkata," CSK CEO Kasi Viswanathan told The New Indian Express.  

The ESPNCricinfo report stated that if Moeen fails to arrive on time, New Zealand batter Devon Conway is likely to make his IPL debut.

Moeen scored 357 runs from 15 innings for CSK in the IPL last year, while also accounting for six wickets from 15 games with his off-spin bowling.

(ESPNCricinfo/New Indian Express inputs)