Ambati Rayudu is celebrating his 39th birthday today i.e. 23 September. In domestic cricket, Rayudu has played for Andhra Pradesh as well as Hyderabad, Baroda and Vidarbha. He has played for Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings in IPL. Famous for his temper and fights, Rayudu’s cricket career has been highly controversial. He is always in the headlines for one reason or another. Rayudu’s anger had hurt him a lot. That’s why Rayudu’s international career, once considered among India’s greatest batsmen, ended in just 6 years. Not only this, his debut was delayed during this period and even after joining the team, he could not play a single Test or World Cup match.
The debut was delayed
Ambati Rayudu played an unbeaten innings of 177 runs at the age of just 16 on a tour of England in 2002. With the help of his innings, the Indian U-19 team beat England badly. Due to this, Rayudu came in the eyes of cricket experts. After this he created a sensation by scoring a double century and then a century in the same match for Hyderabad in the Ranji Trophy. Rayudu did not stop here. Under his captaincy, India reached the semi-finals of the 2004 U-19 World Cup.
After showing so much talent, it was believed that he will make his debut for Team India at a young age. But Rayudu’s anger hurt him. The result was that instead of debuting at the age of 20-21, he got the opportunity at the age of 27. Rayudu made his international debut on 24 July 2013 against Zimbabwe in Harare. Even after this he kept moving in and out of the team.
Controversy and revolt against BCCI in domestic cricket
Ambati Rayudu made his first class debut for Hyderabad at the age of just 16. After the 2004 U-19 World Cup, his poor performance continued in the Ranji Trophy as well. Meanwhile, he had a dispute with Hyderabad coach Rajesh Yadav, after which he left the team and went to play for Andhra Pradesh. During the Ranji Trophy match, he had a fight with Hyderabad players. Then Arjun Yadav, playing for Hyderabad, attacked him with a stump.
Rayudu came out of this controversy only when he came into the limelight again in 2007 by rebelling against the BCCI. In fact, he went on to play in the Indian Cricket League despite BCCI’s ban. BCCI did not recognize this league then. In such a situation, BCCI banned all tournaments related to Team India and the board. However, the Indian Cricket League folded after just 2 years amid opposition from the BCCI and ICC and Ambati Rayudu parted ways in 2009.
BCCI, IPL, International Career and Retirement Waivers
Ambati Rayudu had to apologize to the BCCI for participating in the Indian Cricket League. After this the doors of domestic cricket, IPL and Team India opened again for him. In IPL 2010, Mumbai Indians included him in the team by paying a price of 12 lakh rupees. In the IPL, Rayudu started to perform well for Mumbai in every season and won many big matches. Even while playing in the IPL, he clashed with Zaheer Khan and Harbhajan, due to which he was embroiled in controversies. Meanwhile in 2013 he got a call for Team India but did not get many opportunities.
Rayudu, who made his ODI debut in 2013 and T20 International in 2014, did not get a chance to play a single Test match. Even in T20 he could play only 6 matches, in which he scored only 42 runs. On the other hand, despite performing brilliantly in ODIs, he kept moving in and out of the team. He was part of the Indian team during the 2015 World Cup but did not get any matches. Then in between, for a year or two, he did not perform well and was even dropped from the team. He made a comeback in the 2018 IPL after a strong performance but was not selected for the 2019 World Cup. There was a huge uproar about this. This made Rayudu very sad and he took sanyasa in anger.
