Right-handed middle-order batsman Ambati Rayudu is a super cricketer who just could not live up to his potential. Rayudu began his career playing for Hyderabad youth teams in the late-2000s. He played for the under-16 and under-19 levels and represented India-Under 15s at the ACC under-15 trophy in 2000.
Because of differences with the Hyderabad teammate Rajesh Yadav, he switched over to Andhra for the 2005-06 season. That season he averaged 35 in the Ranji Trophy and made headlines when he was attacked by Hyderabad player Arjun Yadav with stumps and after that Yadav was dismissed during the Andhra-Hyderabad match.
Ambati Rayudu has now made himself unavailable for the 2019-20 Ranji Trophy season. The Hyderabad batsman had announced his retirement from all forms of the game after Mayank Agarwal was called-in as a cover for KL Rahul during the 2019 World Cup.
Rayudu retracted that decision and had since then led Hyderabad in the Vijay Hazare Trophy and the ongoing Syed Mushtaq Ali Twenty20 tournament. But in an interesting development, the right-hander has expressed his unavailability to play in the Ranji Trophy- India’s premier first-class tournament.
Rayudu will be unavailable for the upcoming Ranji season
As per reports, the batsman has sent a letter to RA Swaroop, the chairman of the senior selection committee of Hyderabad Cricket, saying that he would not be available for the Ranji season.
Interestingly, this is not the first time that Ambati Rayudu has voiced reservations about playing first-class cricket. Last year, the Hyderabadi announced his retirement from four-day cricket in a bid to prolong his white-ball career.
Rayudu’s decision last season to quit first-class Cricket significantly backfired as the lack of match practice during the period when India was not playing white-ball cricket was evident when he came back to the side for the series against Australia and New Zealand.