Ambati Rayudu announces 'IPL 2022 will be his last season', deletes tweet later

Veteran Chennai Super Kings batter Ambati Rayudu has yet again garnered limelight with his social media activities. Minutes after announcing his retirement from Indian Premier League (IPL) following the conclusion of the ongoing season, the 36-year-old deleted the tweet and left netizens perplexed. Notably, the dasher made the major announcement on Saturday (May 14).

Rayudu, who made his IPL debut back in 2010, has been a prolific performer and his numbers speak volumes of his brilliance. The Andhra Pradesh-born batter has truly been a captain’s delight as he can bat anywhere in the order. Be it anchoring the innings early on or playing big shots towards the end, Rayudu has embraced all challenged and tormented the best of bowlers. Notably, he was associated with Mumbai Indians till 2017 and won three titles with them.

Would love to sincerely thank MI and CSK: Ambati Rayudu

He then joined Chennai Super Kings in 2018 and has been a vital cog of the team since then. While making the major announcement, he thanked both the franchises for being a part of his journey. “I am happy to announce that this will be my last ipl. I have had a wonderful time playing it and being a part of 2 great teams for 13 years. Would love to sincerely thank Mumbai Indians and Csk for the wonderful journey,” he had written in the deleted post.

Here’s the deleted tweet:

As far as his numbers are concerned, Rayudu has so far slammed 4187 runs in 187 games with his average and strike rate being close to 30 and 130 respectively. His brilliance in IPL also earned him a place in the national team and he did pretty well in the international arena too. While Rayudu played his last international match in 2019, he continued to be a formidable force in IPL.

The 36-year-old also played a crucial role in taking CSK to their fourth title last year. While the defending champions have endured a hard time in the ongoing competition, Rayudu has fared pretty well. So far, he has scored 271 runs in 12 games which also includes one half-century.