Dejected Ambati Rayudu announces retirement from all forms of cricket

Ambati Rayudu has decided to call it quits from the game. Despite two players getting injured during the World Cup, the selectors opted for other players and that must have surely left him dejected. However, it was more or less curtains on his career after not getting picked in the 15-man squad which was announce a month ahead of the World Cup.

Rayudu was the designated number four for the mega event for the Men in Blue after he made a comeback to the national side last year after a scintillating IPL stint. He batted superbly as well in the matches to come but somehow got bogged down under the expectations in the lead up to the World Cup and his performances started to dip. At the same time, Vijay Shankar impressed many with his skills and being the ‘three dimensional’ cricketer went in his favour.

Shankar pipped Ambati Rayudu in the squad which irked the Hyderabad cricketer and also took a dig at the chief selector MSK Prasad on Twitter. He posted a tweet stating that he ordered a set to 3D glasses to watch the World Cup. However, things calmed once the batsman was named in the reserves list for the quadrennial event and one felt he will get a chance in case any player gets injured.

But as it turned out, the selectors have clearly overlooked Ambati Rayudu by naming Rishabh Pant and Mayank Agarwal as replacements to Shikhar Dhawan and Vijay Shankar respectively.

Reason not stated

According to the reports in Indian Express, Ambati Rayudu has not stated the reason for his retirement but has decided to hang his boots. However, it is still not clear if he has retired from all forms of game or only international cricket. Many felt had Rayudu not tweeted the 3D glasses’ tweet after the squad announcement, he would’ve been in England now. While many sympathised for him on the social media, few trolled the cricketer as well for not getting picked in the team.

As far as Ambati Rayudu’s international career is concerned, it was filled with ups and downs. Despite making his debut in 2013, he played only in 55 ODIs and went on to amass 1694 runs at an average of 47.06. The 33-year-old also scored three centuries and 10 half-centuries with a highest score being 124. Rayudu also represented India in 6 T20 Internationals where he couldn’t do much mustering 42 runs.