Middle-order Indian batsman Ambati Rayudu on Wednesday announced his retirement from all forms of cricket.
One of India’s reserve batsmen for the ongoing ICC World Cup, Rayudu wrote to the BCCI announcing his decision after being snubbed for selection twice during the tournament.
India have had to replace Shikhar Dhawan and Vijay Shankar due to injuries and picked Rishabh Pant and Mayank Agarwal to join the team in England. Agarwal, in fact, was not even part of the reserves named ahead of the World Cup and is yet to make his international debut in limited-overs cricket for India.
However, in his official email to the BCCI, Rayudu did not state the reason for his decision. Below is the full text of his email to Indian cricket’s apex body.
“I would like to bring to your kind notice that I have come to 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 Vidharbha. I also would 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.
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. It has been a wonderful journey of playing the sport and learning from every up and down it brought up on for the last 25 years at various different levels. Finally I would like to thank my family and all the wellwishers who have been with me throughout this wonderful journey.
Thanking you sir,
Yours sincerely
Ambati Rayudu
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