Ambati Rayudu not retiring from IPL, says CSK CEO after star batter deletes retirement tweet

Chennai Super Kings (CSK) stalwart Ambati Rayudu left cricket fans scratching their heads on Saturday (May 14) as he took to Twitter to announce his retirement from the Indian Premier League (IPL) before deleting the tweet. Rayudu, who was bought back by CSK at the IPL 2022 mega auction earlier this year, said the ongoing season will be his last for the Men in Yellow.

Rayudu took to Twitter to thank CSK and his former team Mumbai Indians for their support throughout his IPL career. The veteran batter played for only two teams throughout his IPL career and won as many as five titles combined with both franchises.

"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," Rayudu announced in the now-deleted tweet.

Rayudu's announcement came as a shock to many as CSK are yet to complete their campaign in IPL 2022. The MS Dhoni-led side is out of the race for the playoffs but still have two games to play and would hope to finish the season on a high after a disappointing show so far.

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Soon after Rayudu deleted his tweet, CSK CEO Kasi Viswanathan confirmed that the star batter is not retiring this year and will continue to remain with the franchise. Rayudu has been one of the best batters for CSK ever since joining the four-time champions in 2018.

However, this season he hasn't been at his best and has managed to amass only 271 runs in 12 games at an average of just over 27. CSK CEO Viswanathan said the tweet was put out by Rayudu due to psychological pressure as he hasn't done well this season.

"That's wrong news. He is not retiring. We are not worried," CSK CEO Viswanathan was quoted as saying by India Today. He also confirmed that Rayudu will continue playing for the four-time champions next season. Rayudu has scored 1771 runs for CSK at an average of 32.79 and a strike rate of 128.80 since joining the franchise in 2018.