Ambati Rayudu announced his retirement from the IPL hours before the planned final on Sunday. He made the announcement by a Tweet.
Rayudu completed his IPL career on a near-perfect note, capturing the IPL 2023 trophy with the Chennai Super Kings in a dramatic conclusion. The seasoned veteran played a tiny but significant role in his team’s victory, hitting 19 off 8 balls with two sixes and one four.
Rayudu is now the 12th best run scorer in IPL history, with 4,329 runs scored at an average of 28.29 and a strike rate of 127.29. During his lengthy career, he has represented the two most successful teams in the competition’s history, MI and CSK, and won the championship six times.
He played for MI from 2010 to 2017 and for CSK from 2018 until the conclusion of his IPL career. He never truly enjoyed a long run with the Indian squad. Rayudu was no stranger to controversy, frequently losing his temper on the cricket pitch.
Here are the 3 biggest controversies of Ambati Rayudu’s career
1) BCCI Ban
Rebel Indian Cricket League (ICL) was created in the middle of 2007. Zee Entertainment Enterprises, a private company not belonging to BCCI, created the league. The cricket board disapproved and warned all players and officials not to participate in the competition.
Those that choose the ICL were informed that they would be unable to compete in any of the BCCI’s domestic competitions. Despite the threats, Ambati Rayudu participated in the league and later defended his actions in an interview.
He was suspended by the BCCI for playing for Hyderabad Heroes from 2007 to 2008. Finally, in 2009, the BCCI granted relief to 79 ICL players, including Rayudu, letting him to compete in the Ranji Trophy and the IPL.
2) Road Rage Incident
#WATCH: Cricketer Ambati Rayudu seen in scuffle with a man allegedly after argument over rash driving in Hyderabad (Unverified video source) pic.twitter.com/r1pdq5Lh9g
— ANI (@ANI) August 31, 2017
Ambati Rayudu was involved in a road rage episode involving a senior citizen in August 2017. Rayudu was being punished for suspected reckless driving, got into a dispute with an elderly man. The event was captured on camera by ANI.
Rayudu is seen in the video engaging in a angry conversation with an elderly passerby. Eventually, the two engaged in an armed combat before being separated by the crowd. This was one of many occasions that Rayudu lost his cool and got himself into trouble.
3) Rayudu’s 3D glasses tweet
Just Ordered a new set of 3d glasses to watch the world cup ????????..
— ATR (@RayuduAmbati) April 16, 2019
Only one month before the 2019 Cricket World Cup, Captain Virat Kohli assured the press that Ambati Rayudu was a lock for the No. 4 spot in the team. However, when the lineup for the flagship competition was revealed, Rayudu’s name was an unexpected omission.
“After the Champions Trophy, we have tried quite a few middle-order batsmen, which also included [Dinesh] Karthik, Shreyas Iyer, Manish Pandey. We did give a few more chances to Rayudu but Vijay Shankar gives three dimensions. He can bat, if the conditions are overcast, he can bowl, plus he is a fielder. We are looking at Vijay Shankar as a No. 4. Now we have plenty of options for that slot.”
MSK Prasad
The next day, Ambati Rayudu resorted to Twitter and made a thinly disguised remark on MSK Prasad’s remarks. Even after opener Shikhar Dhawan was injured and forced out of the competition, Ambati Rayudu was not chosen as a substitute, and Rishabh Pant was.