“There is a different game that’s happening there with Ambati Rayudu” - Aakash Chopra feels all not well in CSK camp

Former India player Aakash Chopra reckons all is not well in the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) camp in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022. He said so regarding the recent controversy over Ravindra Jadeja and Ambati Rayudu.

A few days back, Jadeja left the Chennai bio-bubble amid reports of an alleged rift between him and the team management over the captaincy issue. The official franchise release stated that Jadeja had suffered a rib injury. On Saturday, Rayudu stunned fans when he put out a tweet announcing his IPL retirement. However, he later did a U-turn and deleted the tweet.

The Rayudu incident happened a day before CSK's game against Gujarat Titans (GT) at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. Speaking ahead of the game, Chopra said on his YouTube channel that the franchise seem to be suffering from on-field as well as off-field woes. He said:

“Chennai have their own story. Ravindra Jadeja left (the bio-bubble), then Ambati Rayudu announced retirement before unretiring. There is a different game that’s happening there with Ambati Rayudu. All doesn’t seem to be well in that camp.”

Announcing his IPL retirement on Saturday, Rayudu had tweeted

"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..."

Franchise CEO Kasi Viswanathan, however, talked him out of retirement. Speaking to Sportstar, Viswanathan explained:

"I spoke to him, and he is not retiring. He was disappointed with his performance, and that's why he might have put out that tweet. But he has deleted it, and he is definitely not retiring. Everything is fine; we have had a word, and he will be with us.”

The 36-year-old Rayudu has had a below par IPL 2022 campaign. In 12 games, he has scored 271 runs at an average of 27.10 and a strike rate of 124.31. He has scored only one fifty, a valiant 78 off 39 balls in a losing cause against the Punjab Kings.

---

“They played poor cricket” - Aakash Chopra on CSK’s loss to MI

Reflecting on Chennai’s capituation for 97 against Mumbai Indians (MI) in their previous game, Chopra said that the franchise were unlucky, as unavailability of DRS perhaps cost them a wicket. He, however, opined that CSK played poor cricket overall, saying:

“Chennai can say that they got one bad decision in the last match because DRS was not there. It was bad; it started a domino effect, but I thought they played poor cricket. They will be playing for pride now. This is a strong and successful franchise. They would want to sign off on a high.”

In a controversial moment in the clash against Mumbai, in-form Chennai opener Devon Conway was adjudged lbw to Daniel Sams in the first over. To the naked eye, the ball seemed to be heading down leg, but DRS wasn’t available due to a power failure at the Wankhede Stadium.

CSK could not recover from the early blow and were all out for under 100. MI chased down the target with five wickets in hand.