Ambati Rayudu IPL Profile

Ambati Rayudu is an Indian professional cricket player and current member of the Baroda team in domestic cricket. Born on the 23rd of September 1985 he is primarily a right-handed middle-order batsman who can occasionally keep wicket and bowls right-arm off-breaks.

Rayudu started his career playing for Hyderabad junior teams at the Under-16 and Under-19 levels. But he first came into the limelight after he scored an unbeaten 177 to help the India Under-19s win a one-day series in England in 2002. He opened the batting just at the age of 16. The following Ranji Trophy season was equally impressive, with Hyderabad where he scored a double-century and a hundred in a match against Andhra Pradesh. He became the youngest player in the history of the tournament to score a double century and a century in the same match.

In 2004, he was named the captain of the U-19 Indian side for the World Cup which had stars like RP Singh, Suresh Raina, Dinesh Kartik, Shikhar Dhawan, Irfan Pathan, etc. India finished the World Cup as the semi-finalists. But later that year, after a poor domestic campaign and conflicts with his coach at Hyderabad in 2005, he switched to play for Andhra, the first of four different domestic teams he would play for.

Rayudu's career looked to be on the progressive path until his choice to participate in the rebel Indian Cricket League at the age of 21, to virtually put an end to his chances of playing for India in 2007. Though, after accepting the BCCI's offer of amnesty in 2009, he returned to Domestic cricket with Hyderabad and he was bought by the Mumbai Indians for the 2010 IPL. 

This was the start of a streak in which he was among their top run scorers and a contributor to three IPL titles. His remarkable hitting streak continued at Chennai Super Kings after he moved there in 2018, where his debut season saw him score 602 runs. In 2023, he was retained by the side for Rs 6.75 Crores.

Rayudu was part of the national set-up as well in white ball format. He made his international debut in July 2013, in a One Day International against Zimbabwe, and his T20I debut against England on 7 September 2014. Rayudu was in contention to be included in the 2019 World Cup squad after some fine stints in IPL and national side over the years. 

However, some imperfect form prior to the tournament saw him getting the axed from the final list. Following the information, he announced his sudden retirement from the national set-up although made a U-turn and came out of retirement after few months.