Senior Chennai Super Kings (CSK) batter Ambati Rayudu recently grabbed the headlines with his announcement of taking retirement after the conclusion of the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022. Rayudu had taken to his official Twitter handle on Saturday (May 14), declaring that the fifteenth season of the cash-rich league would be his last stint.
As tributes started to flow shortly after Rayudu’s announcement of his retirement, the Super Kings batter deleted his tweet, leaving the fans and cricket fraternity puzzled.
“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,” Rayudu had written in a now-deleted tweet.
While there is yet to be any clarification from the player himself, CSK head coach Stephen Fleming addressed the whole situation and mentioned that it was more of a storm in a cup than disappointment.
Fleming stated that Rayudu is alright now and felt that the squad isn’t hit by the revolving controversies around the Guntur-born cricketer. Notably, the 36-year-old was left out of the playing XI against Gujarat Titans (GT), which the MS Dhoni-led side went on to lose by seven wickets.
“It was not disappointing, it was probably a little bit of a storm in a teacup, to be honest. But I think he was fine. It has not changed anything in the camp, but it is a non-story,” said Fleming while replying to an NDTV question during a virtual presser.
Rayudu has so far played 187 matches in the lucrative tournament, scoring over 4000 runs at an average of 29.08 and a strike rate of 127.26 with the help of one hundred and 22 half-centuries.
