Ambati Rayudu, the Chennai Super Kings cricketer, made a significant announcement on Sunday afternoon prior to the IPL final. He declared that this would be his final appearance in the IPL. Specifically, he will be playing his last match of the competition against the Gujarat Titans in the final showdown.
In 2019, Rayudu retired from international cricket following his exclusion from the World Cup team. Despite being in good form, he was replaced by Vijay Shankar in the squad. The then selector, MSK Prasad, justified the decision by highlighting Shankar’s abilities in batting, bowling, and fielding, dubbing him a ‘three D’ cricketer. In a sarcastic response, Rayudu took to social media, jokingly mentioning that he would watch the World Cup wearing ‘3D’ glasses.
While Rayudu had retired from domestic cricket two years ago, he later reversed his decision. However, in a recent tweet on Sunday, he expressed, “Both Mumbai and CSK are great teams. It has been an incredible journey in the IPL, with 204 matches, 14 seasons, 11 play-offs, 8 finals, and 5 trophies. Perhaps tonight will mark the sixth trophy. I have thoroughly enjoyed playing in this competition, but I have decided that tonight’s final will be my last match in the IPL. Thank you all for your support. I prefer not to dwell on the past.”
2 great teams mi nd csk,204 matches,14 seasons,11 playoffs,8 finals,5 trophies.hopefully 6th tonight. It’s been quite a journey.I have decided that tonight’s final is going to be my last game in the Ipl.i truly hav enjoyed playing this great tournament.Thank u all. No u turn 😂🙏
— ATR (@RayuduAmbati) May 28, 2023
Rayudu’s impressive career statistics include scoring 1694 runs in 55 ODIs for India, comprising of three centuries and 10 fifties, with an above-average score of 47. However, he gained significant recognition in T20 cricket, initially representing the Mumbai team before becoming an integral part of the Chennai team over the past decade.
Ahead of Sunday’s match, Rayudu had accumulated 4329 runs in 203 IPL matches, including 22 fifties and one century. His best season was in 2018 when he scored 602 runs.