Former Indian batsman and ex-Chennai Super Kings (CSK) cricketer Parthiv Patel has named England all-rounder Moeen Ali as the main game-changer of the MS Dhoni-led side in the 14th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL). Regarded as one of the most successful teams in the history of IPL, the Dhoni-led CSK side had bounced back in the cash-rich league after recording their worst-ever finish last season. 

Roped at the IPL 2021 auction by the Chennai Super Kings for a lucrative price tag, England star all-rounder Moeen played a crucial role in CSK’s resurgence this season. The former Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) star delivered the goods for the Dhoni-led side with his all-round heroics in the initial stage of the cash-rich league. 

Thanks to his superlative efforts, Moeen became a vital cog of the Chennai Super Kings franchise in the 14th season of domestic cricket’s biggest extravaganza. Reflecting on Moeen’s impressive run with the Yellow Brigade, Patel praised the Englishman for inspiring CSKs’ turnaround in the recently suspended IPL 2021. 

“I think Moeen Ali was the main game-changer for CSK. He can open, he can bat at No.3, which he did really well. He carried on the momentum that Faf and Ruturaj gave. It was good to see him performing so well,” Patel told Star Sports.

With a note-worthy average of 34.33, Moeen amassed 206 runs for Dhoni’s men and the spinner also bagged five wickets in the league stage of the IPL 2021. Crediting Dhoni for promoting Moeen up the batting order, Patel said that CSK was in his top four even before the tournament started. 

“Everyone thought Suresh Raina will bat at No.3 but it was Moeen Ali. He knew what changes he needed to do. Everyone was thinking that MS Dhoni will come and bat at No.4 or No.5. He took a backseat, he knew that there are guys who are batting well and they should get more number of overs,” Patel added.