Rayudu to retire from IPL after final against Titans, promises 'no U-turn'

Ambati Rayudu has announced his retirement from the IPL. He said in a tweet on Sunday thatthe IPL 2023 final for Chennai Super Kings against Gujarat Titans in Ahmedabad will be his last game in the tournament and that he will not be making a "U-turn" on his decision.

Last year, Rayudu had posted a tweet in which he had said IPL 2022 would be his final season in the competition. He, however, deleted it after intervention from the CSK management.

That wasn't the first time Rayudu had taken back a decision about his future in the game. In 2019, he had announced his retirement from all cricket after being snubbed for the 2019 ODI World Cup. But he then returned to domestic and IPL cricket.

Rayudu has been a big part of the CSK set-up, having been with the side since 2018 after playing for Mumbai Indians from 2010 to 2017. This year, he's largely played as an impact substitute for CSK - coming in to bat in the middle order in place of/being substituted by a bowler - on their way to the title clash.

He hasn't had a great season, though: in 11 innings, he has scored 139 runs at a strike rate of 132.38. He scored a nine-ball 17 in tough conditions in the Qualifier 1 in Chennai to help take CSK to the final.

Rayudu is among the top-ten most experienced IPL cricketers, and the second-most successful IPL cricketer, with five titles, with Mumbai Indians and CSK. Only Rohit Sharma (six) has won the IPL more times and Rayudu has the chance to equal the record if CSK win on Sunday.

Under Rohit, Rayudu won the 2013, 2015 and 2017 IPL titles with Mumbai Indians and then won the 2018 and 2021 IPL titles with CSK. Rayudu had missed the first two years of the competition because of his association with the Indian Cricket League.

Rayudu is currently on 203 IPL games. He has made 4329 runs with 22 half-centuries and one century, which came against Sunrisers Hyderabad in 2018.