Moeen Ali fetches £700,000 but No 1 T20 batsman Dawid Malan goes for just £150,000 as England stars are among big names sold in early round of IPL auction
- Moeen Ali and Dawid Malan were among the big names sold in IPL auction
- Moeen went for nearly £700,000 to Chennai Super Kings after a bidding war
- No. 1 T20 batsman Malan sold for just £150,000 to Punjab Kings in early rounds
- Sam Billings, Adil Rashid and Alex Hales were among England players unsold
England all-rounder Moeen Ali was bought for nearly £700,000 by Chennai Super Kings in the Indian Premier League auction.
Chennai were involved in a bidding battle with Punjab Kings before eventually securing the 33-year-old’s services, while fellow England star and No 1-ranked T20 batsman Dawid Malan sold for just under £150,000 to Punjab in the early rounds of the auctions.
Alex Hales, who recently starred for Sydney Thunder in the Big Bash League, Sam Billings and Adil Rashid were among England players to go unsold.
Moeen Ali (left) and Dawid Malan (right) were among big names to be sold in the IPL auction
The IPL is scheduled to run from April to June this year.
The most expensive player in the 2021 auctions so far is South Africa’s Chris Morris, bought for £1.6million by Rajasthan Royals, while Australia’s Glenn Maxwell was bought for £1.4m by Royal Challengers Bangalore.
Moeen’s IPL sale follows a public apology issued by England Test coach Chris Silverwood after captain Joe Root suggested the multi-format player had ‘chosen’ to miss England’s last two games in the aftermath of England’s second Test defeat by India.
South Africa’s Chris Morris is most expensive player so far at £1.6m paid by Rajasthan Royals
‘We’re sorry we gave the impression Moeen is being treated differently to other people,’ said Silverwood. ‘He isn’t. I can guarantee you that. The decision for him to go home was ours as it was with the others. We’re happy to own that decision.’
Moeen and Malan join eight other England players in this year’s IPL after they were retained by their franchises. They are: Ben Stokes, Jofra Archer and Jos Buttler (all Rajasthan Royals), Eoin Morgan (Kolkata Knight Riders), Chris Woakes (Delhi Capitals), Sam Curran (Chennai Super Kings), Jonny Bairstow (Sunrisers Hyderabad) and Chris Jordan (Kings XI Punjab).
England’s Test team could face more disruption if their player’s IPL teams reach the latter stages of the competition, with a home Test series against New Zealand scheduled for June.
Alex Hales (left) and Adil Rashid (right) were amongst England players to go unsold in auction