England’s Moeen Ali has been sold to Chennai Super Kings for £700,000 in the opening round of the 2021 Indian Premier League Auction as South Africa all-rounder Chris Morris fetched a record £1.6million bid by Rajasthan Royals.
Moeen, who has departed the England squad in India following the second Test to take up a pre-determined period of rest, found himself at the centre of a battle between Kings XI Punjab and Chennai for his services.
The 33-year-old, who had spent the past two years with Royal Challengers Bangalore, fills the Super Kings’ final overseas spot and will join England team-mate Sam Curran at the IPL franchise, when the competition takes place from April to June.
England batsman Dawid Malan, number one in the world Twenty20 rankings, is set to play for Punjab following a successful bid of almost £150,000.
However, England players Alex Hales, Jason Roy, Sam Billings and spinner Adil Rashid all went unsold during the first round of the auction.
Australian Steve Smith, not retained by the Rajasthan Royals, was sold to Delhi Capitals for £220,000, while batsman Glenn Maxwell will join Royal Challengers Bangalore for £1.4m.
Eight English players - including white-ball captain Eoin Morgan, Ben Stokes, Jofra Archer and Jos Buttler - were retained by their respective franchises ahead of the 2021 tournament.
Bowler Mark Wood, however, had requested to be withdrawn from consideration for the auction as he did not want to spend more time away from his family.
PA
