‘Dhoni used him very well this year’ - Aakash Chopra lauds Ambati Rayudu for his valuable contribution in IPL 2023

Former India international, Aakash Chopra, lauded the veteran Chennai Super Kings batter, Ambati Rayudu, for his valuable impact in the recently concluded IPL 2023. He stated that skipper MS Dhoni used the cricketer well throughout the tournament and he was flexible enough to bat anywhere and also mentioned that the 'Impact Player' rule eventually benefited him a lot this season.

Notably, on the night of the finals against Gujarat Titans, Rayudu played a sensational cameo of 19 runs off eight deliveries in order to bring CSK back into the contest. Other than that, the 37-year-old had a very poor season with the bat but his contribution in the final eventually helped the MS Dhoni-led side to win the tournament for the fifth time in their history.

“Very few people have a trophy in hand after playing their final match. Dhoni used him very well this year, that he will be the Impact Player if they are batting second, and that he could opt not to field if they got to bat first. The last match he played, if Chennai won the tournament, his knock was extremely important," the former Indian opener said.

“In fact, he struck two sixes and a four in the three balls before he got - 16 runs in three balls. You needed 10 runs off the last two balls. If he had scored only 10 runs in those three balls, you would have needed 16 off the last two balls, which couldn't have been scored,” Chopra stated on his YouTube channel.

Rayudu used to score runs in whichever position he got to bat: Chopra

Ambati Rayudu finished his IPL career being one of the most decorated franchise cricketers in modern times. The cricketer has won six IPL trophies and speaking about the same, Aakash Chopra hailed him and stated that he was one such cricketer who could adjust to any role given by the management.

“He picked up not one or two but six trophies - three for Mumbai and three for Chennai. He played important roles, he used to score runs in whichever position he got to bat. He played extremely well against spin, there is no doubt about that, but he was also very effective against fast bowling. He just understood how to score runs, how to play big shots, when to take chances and when not to,” Chopra mentioned.