Warwickshire's Moeen Ali wins Indian Premier League for second time with Chennai Super Kings

The Warwickshire ace was part of the Chennai team which defeated Gujarat Titans in Monday’s thrilling final, Ravindra Jadeja smashing 10 off the final two deliveries to seal a five wicket victory.

Moeen, who became the first English player to win the IPL when the Super Kings previously triumphed in 2021, said: “It is an amazing feeling. I am really feeling happy. This was some final. In the end, we have done it.”

The 35-year-old had little time to reflect on the triumph as he returned to the UK ahead of taking the captaincy of a Birmingham Bears team who have won their first three matches in this season’s T20 Blast.

Moeen won’t feature at Northamptonshire tonight and will be granted a few days of rest, but the hectic group stage schedule means he is likely to play sooner rather than later. The Bears, who Moeen rejoined over the winter after more than a decade with Worcestershire, visit Derbyshire on Friday and host Nottinghamshire on Saturday.

“We have to wait and be respectful,” said head coach Mark Robinson when asked about his availability. “He might need a bit of space and time off because he’s had a long winter, but we’ll see when I speak to him. It could be another couple of games of captaining for Alex Davies, but we’re in capable hands.”