The rivalry between Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Mumbai Indians (MI) is high-octane in the Indian Premier League (IPL). MI captain Rohit Sharma even tagged the heavyweight fixture as the ‘El Classico’ of IPL.
There have been several cricketers who have also changed camps and represented for both the arch-rivals. The likes of Michael Hussey, Dwayne Bravo, Dwayne Smith, and Harbhajan Singh have donned both blue and yellow jersey of MI and CSK respectively.
Another prominent name to have represented both the franchise is Hyderabad stalwart Ambati Rayudu. Until the 2017 season, Rayudu was one of the mainstays of MI batting setup in the middle-order. He was instrumental in several memorable wins for the Mumbai-based franchise.
It was only when he was released ahead of the mega-auctions of 2018 that CSK got the opportunity of bagging the experienced candidate.
With Shane Watson and Rayudu, CSK found an explosive opening pair in the 2018 edition of the IPL. Shortly after, he cemented his place at number four in the Indian team until the 2019 World Cup when the selectors shocked one and all by not picking him.
During a recent interaction with CSK presenter Rupha Rumani, Rayudu had to make a choice between CSK and MI.
To which, Rayudu named his current side, Chennai Super Kings, as his favourite among the two heavyweight franchises.
“At CSK it’s pretty calm, they have a lot more faith in players ability, while MI is more ‘play-your-role’ kind of a setup,” Rayudu said.
Over the years, CSK have won three titles while Mumbai Indians’ fortunes changed with the appointment of Rohit as the captain as he helped them win four titles.
