Rayudu announces retirement from all forms of cricket

By Baidurjo Bhose

New Delhi, July 3 (IANS) Middle-order Indian batsman Ambati Rayudu on Wednesday announced his retirement from all forms of cricket.

Speaking to IANS, a senior BCCI official confirmed that Rayudu had written to the BCCI announcing his retirement from all forms of cricket. However, the batsman could not be contacted for a comment.

The right-handed batsman scored 1,694 runs at an average of 47.05 with a top score of 124* in the 55 ODIs he played for India. He scored three centuries and 10 fifties and had a strike rate of 79.04.

In six T20Is, he scored 42 runs at an average of 10.50. Besides, he also played 97 first-class matches in which he amassed 6,151 runs.

Rayudu was not included in the 15-member squad for the ongoing World Cup. Despite being named in the reserves, he was not called up in the squad after Shikhar Dhawan and Vijay Shankar suffered injuries and Rishabh Pant and Mayank Agarwal were, instead, named as their replacements.

After he again missed a spot in India's World Cup team, Iceland Cricket in a bizarre tweet on Tuesday, offered the 33-year-old permanent residency in their country so that he could play for them.

After his initial World Cup snub, Rayudu had expressed his displeasure and also questioned the selectors' decision to pick Shankar over him with a tweet that mocked a statement by head selector M.S.K. Prasad who had said that "Vijay Shankar gives three dimensions" to the team.

"Just ordered a new set of 3-D glasses to watch the World Cup," Rayudu had tweeted in response.

(Baidurjo Bhose can be contacted at baidurjo.b@ians.in)