India’s Ambati Rayudu announces retirement months after seeming set for World Cup

Indian middle-order batsman Ambati Rayudu has today retired from all formats of cricket.

It is believed that Rayudu, 33, has made the BCCI aware of his intentions in an email, thanking his domestic state teams and his two IPL franchises – Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians. Rayudu was also grateful of the chance to represent India.

“It has been a honour and privilege to have represented our country. I would like to thank the captains I have played under, MS Dhoni, Rohit Sharma and especially Virat Kohli who always had shown great belief in me throughout my career with the Indian team.”

Speaking about the battle for the number 4 spot in India’s ODI side in October 2018, Virat Kohli had been positive of Rayudu’s chances.

“We believe that Rayudu is the right person to capitalise because he’s experienced and he has won many games for his state and in IPL cricket. He has a great one-day record already for India, so I think the batting order is sorted as far as we’re concerned.”

Rayudu, seemed to have enhanced his World Cup prospects further when he finished the New Zealand ODI series as the leading run-getter.

However, since then he has fallen down the pecking order being left out of the World Cup squad and instead left on the reserves list.

In recent days he has seen Rishabh Pant and Mayank Agarwal preferred over him as injury replacements for Shikhar Dhawan and Vijay Shankar.

Rayudu had scored 1,694 runs at an average of over 47 in ODIs before his retirement decision.

JOEL KIFFIN / Getty Images