England star Moeen Ali goes for £700k at IPL 2021 auction while No1 T20 batsman Dawid Malan sold for just £150k

MOEEN ALI landed an incredible £700,000 pay day from the Indian Premier League - just two days after England apologised to him.

All-rounder Moeen, 33, attracted the highest bid among England stars at the IPL auction as several players became instant millionaires.

Surrey bowler Tom Curran raked in £518,000 from Delhi Capitals - while the No1 T20 batsman in the world, Dawid Malan, went for just £150,000.

Alex Hales - fresh from his incredible stint in the BBL - went unsold along with England's Jason Roy, Adil Rashid and Sam Billings.

Moeen struck five sixes in the dying embers of England’s 317-run defeat in the Second Test - a timely reminder of his hitting power.

And, with Chennai Super Kings in a bidding war with Punjab Kings, his reserve price of £197,000 quickly escalated.

He ended up earning almost four times the £167,000 that Royal Challengers Bangalore paid for him in 2018. RCB released him last year.

Moeen said: “I’m absolutely buzzing - it’s made my day and year.

"It’ll be great to play under MS Dhoni’s captaincy and with my England mate Sam Curran, too.”

Aussies Glenn Maxwell and Jhye Richardson and Kiwi Kyle Jamieson picked up deals worth more than £1million.

ONLINE CASINO OFFERS: CLAIM OVER £800 IN BONUS CASH

And South African all-rounder Chris Morris’ £1.6million contract makes him the best-paid non-Indian player in IPL history.

Morris is little more than a journeyman but his bonanza means he is being paid more by Rajasthan Royals than Ben Stokes, Jofra Archer or Jos Buttler.

Moeen does not have a Test contract with the ECB so this deal significantly boosts his earnings.

It comes after he found himself at the centre of controversy when Test captain Joe Root said he had 'chosen' to go home after the Second Test.

Although Moeen had been asked if he wanted to stay, a rest period was built into his schedule like all multi-format players.

Root apologised to Moeen privately and head coach Chris Silverwood said sorry during a virtual media conference on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, Jonny Bairstow is in line to reclaim his position from Dan Lawrence at No3 after being rested from the first two Tests in India.

Bairstow is training again after a circuitous journey back from the UK and another six days of quarantine.

He said: “Myself and Mark Wood flew to Bangalore, had our Covid tests and had to wait in the airport for negative results to come back.

"Then we had a seven-and-a-half hour bus journey across India to Chennai and weren’t allowed to stop.

“It’s tricky with the logistics, the quarantine periods and when you’re on a plane with other people.

"You’ve quarantined at home because you don’t want to contract the virus but then you’re on a plane with people you’ve never met and are greeted at the airport by a lot of Indian fans.

“Then you’re quarantined in your room with no fresh air for six days hoping you haven’t caught it because then you’ll have another 14 days.

"Yes, it is quite mentally taxing.

“But the benefit is you get to go home, sleep in your own bed, cook your own food.

"You get to be with your family. It’s a complete mental refresh.”