Posting a tweet on Saturday, Rayudu had initially said: “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.”
However that tweet was withdrawn within thirty minutes. ESPNcricinfo has learned that the Chennai Super Kings management spoke to Rayudu, who then pulled down the tweet.
Minutes after Rayudu posted his message, former teammates and fans paid tributes. One came from former India fast bowler Irfan Pathan who said he had always “admired” Rayudu’s batting and “energy” on the field.
Rayudu has been an integral part of the Super Kings, who despite being defending champions, have been among the weakest performers this season. On Thursday, Super Kings became the second team to fall out of the playoffs race, after recording one of their lowest scores and suffering one of their worst defeats in the IPL, which came against Mumbai. Despite being a powerhouse in IPL, the MS Dhoni led outfit has been an embattled unit this season after Ravindra Jadeja stepped down as captain halfway through the tournament, and then this week left the tournament having suffered a bruised rib.
As of today, Rayudu is among the top 10 most experienced IPL cricketers, and the second-most successful IPL cricketer with five titles. Only Rohit Sharma (six) has more. His five IPL titles are the joint-second most (with Kieron Pollard). Under Rohit, Rayudu won the 2013, 2015 and 2017 IPL titles with Mumbai and then won the 2018 and 2021 IPL titles with his current team Super Kings. Rayudu had missed the first two years due to his association with the rebel league.
