Rayudu announces retirement

NEW DELHI: Middle-order batsman Ambati Rayudu has announced his retirement from all forms of cricket, two months after being controversially left out of India’s World Cup squad.

Rayudu, 33, made his ODI debut against Zimbabwe in 2013 and played 55 ODIs, scoring 1694 runs at an average of 47.05.

He had retired from first-class cricket in November last year in a bid to focus on his limited-overs career, following a successful return to the India ODI set up after injury troubles.

At the time, Rayudu looked to have sealed the much vaunted No 4 spot in the India middle order after a stellar IPL in 2018, where he topped the run charts for Chennai Super Kings in a victorious campaign. He held it till as recently as the ODI series against Australia in March.

He was not, however, picked in the 15-member squad for the ongoing World Cup, with Vijay Shankar preferred because, the selectors said, he offered “three dimensional” abilities.

Rayudu’s response to that, a tweet referring to his “3D glasses”, seemed to be an indirect jibe at the selectors for ignoring him.