3 biggest controversies from Ambati Rayudu's career

Hours before the scheduled IPL final on Sunday, veteran CSK batter Ambati Rayudu announced his retirement from IPL. The 37-year-old made the announcement through a tweet.

As things turned out, Rayudu ended his IPL career on almost the perfect note, lifting the IPL 2023 trophy with the Chennai Super Kings after a thrilling finale. The veteran of Indian cricket played a small but important part in his team's win, scoring 19 off 8 balls, with the help of two 6s and one 4.

Currently, the 12th highest run-getter in the history of the IPL, Rayudu has scored 4,329 runs at an average of 28.29 and at a strike-rate of 127.29. In his illustrious career, the right-hander played for the two most successful franchises in the history of the competition, MI and CSK, and won the tournament six times.

He played for MI between 2010-2017 and for CSK from 2018 onwards till the end of his IPL journey.

Widely regarded as one of the unluckiest cricketers in the history of Indian cricket, he never really got a long run with the Indian team. Rayudu was no stranger to controversy and would often be seen losing his cool on the cricket field.

Thus, looking beyond his phenomenal batting exploits over the years, let us take a look at the three biggest controversies from Ambati Rayudu's career.

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#1 BCCI Ban

Midway through 2007, the rebel Indian Cricket League (ICL) was formed. The league was launched by Zee Entertainment Enterprises in a venture independent of the BCCI. The cricket board did not approve of it and issued a warning to all players and officials to not participate in the league.

Those going with the ICL were told that they would not be eligible to participate in any of BCCI's domestic tournaments. In spite of the threats, Rayudu played in the league and went on to back his decision in an interview.

He played for the Hyderabad Heroes from 2007 to 2008 and was banned by BCCI during the period. In 2009, BCCI finally granted relief to 79 ICL players, including Rayudu, thereby, allowing him to play in the Ranji Trophy and the IPL.

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#2 Road Rage Incident

In August 2017, Rayudu was involved in a road rage case involving a senior citizen. Rayudu, who was being reprimanded for alleged rash driving, had a scuffle with an elderly man. ANI released a video of the incident.

In the video, Rayudu can be seen getting into an animated exchange with an aged pedestrian. Eventually, an armed struggle ensued between the two, before the two were separated by the crowd. This was one of the many instances when Rayudu lost his cool and landed in trouble.

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#3 Rayudu's 3D glasses tweet

Just one month before the 2019 Cricket World Cup, India Captain Virat Kohli told the press that Ambati Rayudu was a certainty for the No. 4 slot in the 'Men In Blue' squad for the multi-nation event. However, when the squad was announced for the marquee tournament, Rayudu's name was a surprise exclusion.

Chief selector MSK Prasad then justified the decision, stating:

"After the Champions Trophy, we have tried quite a few middle-order batsmen, which also included [Dinesh] Karthik, Shreyas Iyer, Manish Pandey. We did give a few more chances to Rayudu but Vijay Shankar gives three dimensions. He can bat, if the conditions are overcast, he can bowl, plus he is a fielder. We are looking at Vijay Shankar as a No. 4. Now we have plenty of options for that slot."

The next day, Rayudu took to Twitter and posted a thinly veiled jibe at MSK Prasad's comments. Later on, even when opener Shikhar Dhawan was injured and ruled out of the tournament, Ambati Rayudu was not selected and Rishabh Pant was picked as the replacement.

With that, we complete our piece on 3 biggest controversies from Ambati Rayudu's career. Can you think of any other such instances? Let us know in the comments section below.