IPL 2022: Ambati Rayudu signs up as wicketkeeper in mega auction

The Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 mega auction is around the corner and all 10 franchises would be busy finalizing their strategies. A total of 590 players, 370 Indian and 220 foreign, will go under the hammer and would like to fetch substantial bids. Veteran Indian cricketer Ambati Rayudu’s name will also pop up in the bidding event and it would be interesting to see which team will acquire his services.

Meanwhile, to the surprise of many fans, Rayudu has registered his name as a wicketkeeper-batter. At the age of 36, Rayudu, who has retired from international cricket, is certainly at the fag end of his career. Hence, franchises might not look at him as a long-term option. However, if he takes the gloves, team owners might find him a great asset.

For the unversed, Rayudu was released by Chennai Super Kings (CSK) ahead of the mega auction. With him not being an Indian international anymore, the right-handed batter is certainly not among the most sought-after players going under the hammer. However, his keenness to take the added responsibility makes him a potent option.

Ambati Rayudu has kept wickets in IPL before

Now, Rayudu is a part-time wicketkeeper, who has served behind the stumps in IPL. The batter took the gloves on some occasions for CSK, when MS Dhoni wasn’t available. However, he had been a first-choice wicketkeeper for his previous franchise Mumbai Indians. The franchise owners will take all these factors into account while trying to get the Andhra Pradesh cricketer on board.

The veteran’s bid will start at INR 2 crore and at least, more than one franchise are expected to go after him. Meanwhile, the IPL 2022 mega auction will take place on February 12 and 13 in Bengaluru. The event would see the eight existing teams going under massive revamps as they were allowed to retain a maximum of just four players.

As far as the two new teams – Ahmedabad and Lucknow – are concerned, they picked three players apiece from the list of non-retained players. Hence, all 10 teams, who were allotted a purse of INR 90 crore, will enter the bidding event with different available amount, depending upon the retentions they made.