Chennai Super Kings (CSK) batting coach Mike Hussey lauded England all-rounder Moeen Ali as a beautiful and graceful player and said that he didn’t realize how good a player he was until he saw him. These words came from Hussey ahead of CSK’s match against Punjab Kings on April 3.

CSK is yet to win their maiden game in IPL 2022, having lost both of their first two encounters, first to KKR and then to LSG under new captain Ravindra Jadeja.

Moeen Ali missed the first match of the tournament due to visa and travel issues but was in the playing XI for the second match against Lucknow. CSK coach Mike Hussey was impressed with what he saw ever since Moeen joined the IPL squad in 2021 onwards.

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While speaking about Moeen Ali's batting on Star Sports, Hussey said, "Moeen Ali, honestly, is an unbelievable player. I only watched him closely for the first time when he joined the CSK squad in the last season. So, I didn't realize how good a player he actually is. He's a beautiful batsman, a graceful player. Just the way he times the cricket ball is fantastic."  

Hussey was also asked if CSK was panicking after two consecutive defeats, and he said, "It's been one of the traits of CSK over the years. Obviously, MS Dhoni who's captained the team for a long time and Stephen Fleming, the coach, are very calm and collected characters all the time. The first couple of games didn't go as per the plans but we are certainly not panicking as these are early stage.”

(PTI inputs)