Moeen Ali Joins Delhi Capitals' Owned Team In The Hundred

Moeen Ali [Source: AFP]

In a recent development, one of England's most celebrated all-rounders and former veteran, Moeen Ali, has made an impactful return to The Hundred 2026.

He has now made his way back into the tournament dramatically, all while he is currently representing the Kandy Royals in the Lanka Premier League (LPL) 2026.

Moeen Ali Signed As Injury Replacement For Thomas Rew

Moeen has been named as a replacement for Southern Brave, with Thomas Rew, who suffered an injury, being ruled out of the tournament. 

Southern Brave confirmed the news on their official social media handles while announcing Moeen as his replacement. 

For the uninitiated, Thomas Rew played only one match for Southern Brave in this edition of the tournament, featuring against Welsh Fire on July 22 before picking up the injury. 

The talented 18-year-old English prospect scored a brilliant 41 off 30 balls, striking at 136.67. However, he had to cut short his dream run in England's premier 100-ball tournament due to the injury, which has now opened the door for Moeen Ali to feature.

Southern Brave Share Delhi Capitals Connection

Southern Brave's signing of Moeen also carries an interesting IPL connection. The franchise is owned by the GMR Group, the co-owners of Delhi Capitals in the Indian Premier League. GMR recently acquired full ownership of the Southampton-based franchise after previously securing a majority stake in Hampshire County Cricket Club. 

The connection extends beyond ownership as well, with Delhi Capitals men's head coach Hemang Badani currently serving as Southern Brave's head coach in The Hundred, strengthening the relationship between the two franchises.

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Ali Set To Feature In The Hundred After Rejection

Moeen Ali initially missed the nomination rounds before the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) turned down a request for a retrospective addition to the long list. 

Moeen reversed his domestic retirement in January 2026 to play for Yorkshire. However, his omission from the 126-player pool was due to an administrative rule regarding preliminary franchise nominations, which resulted from an ECB mix-up. 

As per the rule, a player must be explicitly nominated as a target by at least one of the eight franchises during the preliminary nomination window. Because no franchise formally submitted his name ahead of the March auction deadline, he was excluded from the automatic bidding pool. 

Moeen had registered with a high base price of £75,000, which narrowed his immediate appeal among franchise strategists and analysts. Nevertheless, Moeen Ali has now been signed by Southern Brave as he looks to repeat his earlier heroics for the team.

How Ali Has Been Doing Recently?

Ali, who has been playing in LPL 2026, is expected to leave the tournament and join the Southern Brave camp soon, with his last match for Kandy Royals coming on July 30. In the LPL, Moeen's form has been hot and cold, scoring 129 runs in seven innings at a strike rate of 141.76. 

With the ball, he has been decent, picking up five wickets in six innings while maintaining an economy rate of 8.82 and a strike rate of 20.00. 

How Southern Brave Can Strengthen Squad With Moeen's Addition?

With Moeen Ali's arrival, Southern Brave will now have another quality all-rounder at their disposal alongside Marcus Stoinis and Nikhil Chaudhary. His inclusion also strengthens the spin department, with his right-arm off-spin complementing Nikhil Chaudhary's leg-break googlies alongside the experienced Adil Rashid. 

Although Thomas Rew and Moeen are not like-for-like replacements, Southern Brave's decision can be understood given their current position in the tournament. The Brave are currently placed seventh in the eight-team competition, having won just one of their four matches so far.

The veteran cricketer has featured in The Hundred since 2021, with his most recent appearance coming in 2024. He has scored 635 runs in the tournament from the 30 innings he has batted, while also claiming 12 wickets, with best bowling figures of 2 for 13.

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