RCB regrets loss of Moeen Ali as England cricketer leaves for national duty

Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) had a disastrous start to their Indian Premier League (IPL) 2019 campaign, losing six matches on the trot. However, Virat Kohli’s men then pulled things back and won four of their next five games to remain in contention. They now require to win their remaining three games to raise the hopes of making the playoffs although it will still be tough.

However, even as RCB are gathering momentum ahead of their remaining clashes, a foreseen blow awaited them as England all-rounder Moeen Ali has left the squad to prepare his national team for an upcoming ODI series against Pakistan as well as the ICC World Cup starting in just over a month’s time. Moeen has been among the few members of the RCB who have done decently this season, scoring 220 runs from 11 matches at a modest average of 27.50 but staggering strike-rate of 165 plus.

Bought for Rs 1.7 crore, Moeen scored two fifties with the highest score of 66 scored against Kolkata Knight Riders. It was only his second IPL after making his debut in 2018 and the second stint was more productive than the first.

We’ll missi you, Mo!

Moeen, 31, has been playing for England since 2014 and in 58 Tests, 92 ODIs and 25 T20Is so far, has scored over 4,000 runs and taken 270 wickets. Owner of eight international hundreds, Moeen has been picked both for the Pakistan series as well as the WC and will be one of England’s main hopes at the showpiece event. This will be Moeen’s second WC after 2015 in which England departed prematurely.

RCB expressed its regret over losing Moeen for the rest of the IPL and posted a tweet saying the beard (as the cricketer sports one) was loved by Namma Chinnaswamy.

The Beard That Is Loved at Namma Chinnaswamy! We'll miss you, Mo! #playBold pic.twitter.com/yBWuG8YbkF

— Royal Challengers (@RCBTweets) April 25, 2019

RCB play their second crucial clash against Delhi Capitals at Feroz Shah Kotla Ground. Chennai Super Kings have already qualified for the playoffs and one win will also see Delhi making it after a gap of seven years.

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