India batter Ambati Rayudu has hinted at retiring from cricket on the back of sharing a video of himself playing in an India A match on social media. This is not the first time that Rayudu has talked about his retirement. In 2019, he had announced his retirement from all formats of cricket only to take a U-Turn later on.
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In his post, Rayudu said that most of the cricketers with whom he played are into coaching or some other kind of role related or not related to the sport. The video is of the match between India A and Pakistan A in 2004. Other than Rayudu, former India captain MS Dhoni along with former batter Gautam Gambhir were also part of the match.
Gambhir is now the mentor of Indian Premier League franchise Lucknow Super Giants, whereas Dhoni is still playing for Chennai Super Kings. Former India spinner Ramesh Powar was at the non-striker’s end when Rayudu hit the winning runs. Former head coach of Indian Women’s Cricket Team, Powar is currently the spin-bowling coach at the NCA (National Cricket Academy).
CSK’s Ambati Rayudu Hints at Retirement From All Formats
Much like Dhoni, Rayudu is also playing for CSK at the moment. However, the right-handed batter has been struggling with his performances. He was also the captain of Baroda in the Vijay Hazare Trophy 2022. Rayudu clearly said that the “end is near” with respect t his cricketing journey.
“Throw back to an india -A game which was almost 2 decades ago.. when you see that 99% of the guys you have played with are either commentators, coaches,mentors and some politicians..you realise that it’s been quite a journey but the end is near,” read Rayudu’s post.
Rayudu can be considered a very unlucky player for not being able to achieve his real potential. He was part of almost every ODI in the buildup to ICC World Cup 2019. Former Indian captain Virat Kohli had even said that Rayudu had locked his place in the team. However, he was dropped from the World Cup squad. This exclusion forced Rayudu to retire in the same year.
Rayudu was a part of ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 as well but did not play a single game in Australia-New Zealand. He has represented India in 55 ODIs where he has scored 1,694 runs at an average of 47.06 and a strike-rate of 79.04. He has scored three centuries and 10 half-centuries as well. These numbers are certainly very good for a middle-order batter.
In domestic cricket, he has been a nomad throughout his career. He never got that stability in his career and has represented teams like Hyderabad, Andhra, Vidarbha and Baroda. Rayudu deserved to play for the national team more often but it was not just meant to be.
Ambati Rayudu IPL 2023 stats
Rayudu has mostly been used as an Impact Player by Chennai this season. He has batted seven times scoring just 83 runs at an average of 16.60. 27* has been his highest score and his place in the team is being questioned by many.
With the kind of batting CSK have at the moment, Rayudu would not have even made the Playing XI if not for the new substitute rule.
