Ambati Rayadu announces retirement ahead of CSK’s IPL 2023 final clash against GT

Chennai Super Kings (CSK) veteran batter Ambati Rayadu has announced that his side’s Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 final against Gujarat Titans (GT) will be the last match of his league career.
Defending champions Gujarat Titans (GT) and four-time champions Chennai Super Kings (CSK) will lock horns in the final of the Indian Premier League (IPL) at the Narendra Modi Stadium on Sunday, making this GT’s second successive final and CSK’s 10th, the most by any time in league’s history.
Rayadu took to Twitter to make the announcement.
“2 great teams mi nd csk, 204 matches, 14 seasons, 11 playoffs, 8 finals, 5 trophies. Hopefully 6th tonight. It’s been quite a journey. I have decided that tonight’s final is going to be my last game in the Ipl. I truly have enjoyed playing this great tournament. Thank u all. No u-turn,” tweeted Rayadu.
https://twitter.com/RayuduAmbati/status/1662793393930371073
In 203 matches of his IPL career, Rayadu has scored 4,329 runs at an average of 28.29 and a strike rate of 127.29. He has scored one century and 22 half-centuries in his IPL career, with best score of 100*. He is the 12th-highest run scorer of all time in IPL history.
He represented Mumbai Indians from 2010-2017 in 114 matches. He scored 2,416 runs at an average of 27.15 at a strike rate of 126.16 for the franchise, with 14 half-centuries. His best score was 81*.
In 89 matches for CSK, a franchise he joined in 2018, he has scored 1,913 runs at an average of 29.89 and a strike rate of 128.73. He has scored a century and eight fifties for CSK, with the best score of 100*.
His 2018 season with CSK is his most successful one. He scored 602 runs in 16 matches at an average of 43.00. He scored a century and three fifties that season, with best score of 100*.
He lifted the IPL trophy with MI (2013, 2015 and 2017) and CSK (2018 and 2021) a total of five times. He is one of the most successful players in the league’s history due to his immense success as a batter and his trophy count.
In the ongoing season, he has scored 139 runs at an average of 15.44 and a strike rate of 132.38. His best score is 27*.
Hardik Pandya-led GT will be looking forward to defending the title that they had bagged in their debut season back in 2022. CSK will be hoping to clinch their fifth title and perhaps give a memorable farewell to skipper MS Dhoni, as this could be his last season with the Yellow franchise as speculated by many fans since the start of the tournament.
Gujarat Titans Squad: Wriddhiman Saha(w), Shubman Gill, Sai Sudharsan, Hardik Pandya(c), Vijay Shankar, David Miller, Rahul Tewatia, Rashid Khan, Mohit Sharma, Noor Ahmad, Mohammed Shami, Joshua Little, Srikar Bharat, Shivam Mavi, Odean Smith, Ravisrinivasan Sai Kishore, Pradeep Sangwan, Matthew Wade, Jayant Yadav, Dasun Shanaka, Abhinav Manohar, Alzarri Joseph, Darshan Nalkande, Urvil Patel, Yash Dayal
Chennai Super Kings Squad: Ruturaj Gaikwad, Devon Conway, Shivam Dube, Ajinkya Rahane, Ambati Rayudu, MS Dhoni(w/c), Ravindra Jadeja, Moeen Ali, Deepak Chahar, Tushar Deshpande, Maheesh Theekshana, Matheesha Pathirana, Mitchell Santner, Subhranshu Senapati, Shaik Rasheed, Akash Singh, Ben Stokes, Dwaine Pretorius, Sisanda Magala, Ajay Jadav Mandal, Prashant Solanki, Simarjeet Singh, RS Hangargekar, Bhagath Varma, Nishant Sindhu. (ANI)