The ace CSK batter announced his retirement ahead of IPL 2023 finale of CSK vs GT which would be his last game in the league. On Sunday, the Indian cricketer tweeted on his official twitter account to confirm his retirement. This is what he wrote :
During last season of IPL 2022, Rayudu tweeted to announce his retirement from Indian Premier League but in no time, removed his tweets. Earlier, the Indian batter announced his retirement from International Cricket as he felt ignored from getting selected for World Cup 2019 in England. Before that, he announced his retirement from domestic cricket which he reversed later on. That’s why this time he mentioned “No U-turn” as he has finally decided to call it a day.
How Ambati Rayudu evolved in IPL since 2010
Interestingly, the 38-year-old cricketer marked the beginning of his IPL career with Mumbai Indians franchise in 2010 for Rs. 12 Lakh. He remained a part of the team when MI won IPL titles in 2013, 2015 and 2017. In 2018, he was purchased by Chennai Super Kings franchise for Rs. 2.2 cr. Since then, he has been an integral part of CSK team during its win in two IPL titles in the year 2018 & 2021. In 2023, Rayudu was retained by CSK for a whopping price of Rs. 6.75 cr.
Here’s the year-wise auction price of Ambati Rayudu with CSK & MI franchises (2010-2023):
| Year | Team | Salary |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 |  | ₹ 6,75,00,000 |
| 2022 | | ₹ 6,75,00,000 |
| 2021 | | ₹ 2,20,00,000 |
| 2020 | | ₹ 2,20,00,000 |
| 2019 | | ₹ 2,20,00,000 |
| 2018 | | ₹ 2,20,00,000 |
| 2017 |  | ₹ 4,00,00,000 |
| 2016 | | ₹ 4,00,00,00 |
| 2015 | | ₹ 4,00,00,00 |
| 2014 | | ₹ 4,00,00,000 |
| 2013 | | ₹ 30,00,000 |
| 2012 | | ₹ 30,00,000 |
| 2011 | | ₹ 30,00,000 |
| 2010 | | ₹ 12,00,000 |
This season the Hyderabadi cricketer scored 139 runs in the 15 matches he played. For Rayudu, year 2018 remained the best in terms of performance as he scored a total of 602 runs in 16 matches at an average of 49 and strike rate of 149.75 which also includes his unbeaten solitary century.
IPL Track Record of Ambati Rayudu
| Year | M | Runs | Best | Avg | SR | 50s | 100s | 4s | 6s | Ct | St |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Career | 203 | 4329 | 100* | 28.29 | 127.29 | 22 | 1 | 358 | 171 | 64 | 2 |
| 2023 | 15 | 139 | 27* | 15.44 | 132.38 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 7 | 2 | 0 |
| 2022 | 13 | 274 | 78 | 24.91 | 122.32 | 1 | 0 | 25 | 15 | 4 | 0 |
| 2021 | 16 | 257 | 72* | 28.55 | 151.17 | 2 | 0 | 16 | 17 | 2 | 0 |
| 2020 | 12 | 359 | 71 | 39.88 | 127.30 | 1 | 0 | 30 | 12 | 3 | 0 |
| 2019 | 17 | 282 | 57 | 23.50 | 93.06 | 1 | 0 | 20 | 7 | 6 | 0 |
| 2018 | 16 | 602 | 100* | 43.00 | 149.75 | 3 | 1 | 53 | 34 | 2 | 0 |
| 2017 | 5 | 91 | 63 | 18.20 | 116.66 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 3 | 3 | 0 |
| 2016 | 13 | 334 | 65 | 30.36 | 120.14 | 2 | 0 | 28 | 12 | 4 | 0 |
| 2015 | 15 | 281 | 53* | 31.22 | 145.59 | 1 | 0 | 18 | 16 | 9 | 0 |
| 2014 | 15 | 361 | 68 | 25.78 | 125.78 | 2 | 0 | 31 | 8 | 6 | 0 |
| 2013 | 19 | 265 | 37 | 18.92 | 114.71 | 0 | 0 | 22 | 4 | 8 | 0 |
| 2012 | 17 | 333 | 81* | 37.00 | 132.14 | 2 | 0 | 21 | 14 | 2 | 0 |
| 2011 | 16 | 395 | 63* | 28.21 | 112.85 | 4 | 0 | 44 | 9 | 7 | 1 |
| 2010 | 14 | 356 | 55* | 27.38 | 144.71 | 2 | 0 | 34 | 13 | 6 | 1 |
Recently, the right-hand batter completed his 200 matches in IPL. The CSK vs GT finale of IPL 2023 would be his 204th match and the last one in IPL.
Twitter reactions on Ambati Rayudu’s retirement
Chennai Super Kings
Mumbai Indians
Suresh Raina
Robin Uthappa
Harsha Bhogle