After announcing his shocking exit from all formats of cricket during the World Cup, Ambati Rayudu has now said that he is open to play for national cricket as well as the Indian Premier League.
In an exclusive interview to Sportstar the middle-order batsman opened up about his sudden decision to retire from the game. He said that the decision to retire wasn’t “an emotional one”. He added that the World Cup snub was a bit “disappointing” after having worked so hard for the spot.
“Not really an emotional decision. No. I mean I had worked a lot for the World Cup for four to five years. Obviously, you will be a bit disappointed. But I had thought maybe it was time, not because it was rejection or emotion, but you work towards something and maybe then you want something else,” he was quoted as saying.
During the World Cup event in July, after being snubbed by the Indian cricket selectors twice, Rayudu announced his exit from the game.
Rayudu further said that he would continue playing for the Chennai Super Kings franchise of the Indian Premier League.
“I am very happy that CSK has always been very supportive. I would be really happy to prepare well for the IPL and represent CSK. Definitely, I would be playing the IPL.”
Announcing his desire to play at the national level, he said, “I haven’t thought much but I would prepare well to come back to white-ball cricket as soon as possible. I love the game, obviously. See ambition and targets are one thing but it still is the game I love. It is about playing cricket. So, I thought why not take it forward? But my first priority would be to get fully fit."
For the World cup, Rayudu was named in the reserves. However, despite Shikhar Dhawan being dropped from the series after an injury, the team did not select Rayudu, and instead chose Vijay Shankar. The team had then picked Mayank Agarwal and Rishab Pant.
Hurt by the selection board’s attitude, Rayudu reportedly wrote, “Respected sir, I would like to bring to your kind notice that I have come to a decision to step away from the sport and retire from all forms and levels of the game. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the bcci and all the state associations that I have represented which include Hyderabad, Baroda, Andhra and Vidarbha. I would also like to thank the two ipl franchises MI and Csk for their support. It has been a honour and privilege to have represented our country.”
Rayudu began his career playing first class cricket with the Hyderabad cricket team. He also took part in the rebel Indian Cricket League (ICL) and only returned to the BCCI fold in 2009. He made his ODI debut in 2013 in a game against Zimbabwe at the age of 28.