Ambati Rayudu recently announced his retirement from Indian Premier League (IPL) cricket during the 2023 season of the highly anticipated T20 tournament. Rayudu, who had been a key player for the Chennai Super Kings (CSK), played a crucial cameo in the IPL 2023 final, contributing 19 runs off 8 balls against Hardik Pandya’s team. It was in this match that Rayudu confirmed it would also be his final appearance in IPL cricket.
Interestingly, the ex-CSK batter had previously made a firm commitment not to reverse his retirement decision. Rayudu had taken to Twitter to announce his retirement in the previous IPL season. However, he deleted the tweet after CSK’s management intervened. This was not the first time Rayudu had made a public retirement announcement. Back in 2019, he had also declared his retirement after being overlooked by the Indian selectors for the ICC World Cup.
Rayudu recently opened up about his experiences with the selection committee in an interview with TV9 Telugu. He revealed that he had faced issues with certain members of the committee during the early stages of his career, which he believes might have played a role in his exclusion from the 2019 World Cup squad. Shedding light on the matter, Rayudu said, “I had some issues with members of the selection committee when I was playing with them in the early stages of my career, which might be one of the reasons why I was out of the team in the 2019 World Cup.”
The 37-year-old former batsman also emphasized that in 2018, BCCI officials had informed him to be prepared for the 2019 World Cup. Rayudu made his international debut for Team India against Zimbabwe at the Harare Sports Club in 2013. His final appearance in an international match came against Australia at the JSCA International Stadium Complex in 2019. Throughout his career, Rayudu represented India in 55 One Day Internationals (ODIs) and 6 T20Is.
