Having been not retained by the Mumbai Indians, Ambati Rayudu was fetched by the Chennai Super Kings for INR 2.20 crores during the IPL auction in January. Playing for the MS Dhoni-led franchise, Rayudu had a wonderful season with the bat and was one of the key figures in scripting the triumph story of CSK.

Rayudu aggregated 602 runs from 16 matches at an impressive average of 43 and finished the cash-rich event as the highest run-getter for Chennai.

Following his stellar IPL 2018 campaign, Rayudu has now revealed the superstitions that brought him luck during the tournament.

Speaking to his CSK teammate Harbhajan Singh in his YouTube talk show ‘Quick Heal Bhajji Blast’, Rayudu disclosed that he takes a bat from India skipper Virat Kohli every year.

“Har saal ek bat leta hu Virat (Kohli) se, usko bhi maloom ho gaya ki tashan hai. Is saal to gaali deke diya hai (I take a bat from Virat every year. Even he now knows how I want to show it off. This time, in fact, he swore before giving me a bat,” Ambati Rayudu said.

Harbhajan, who had shared the dressing room with Rayudu at Mumbai Indians for some years, revealed another secret about the Hyderabad batsman. During the chat, Bhajji said that Rayudu doesn’t keep a mobile phone with him.

“Because when I am thinking about something and a call comes, my thinking stops. Therefore, I don’t keep phones,” Rayudu said.

When asked about the cricketing idols, Rayudu took the names of legends such as VVS Laxman, Sachin Tendulkar and Ricky Ponting.

“Laxman was my idol while growing up. When I came to Mumbai Indians, I learned a lot from Sachin Tendulkar and Ricky Ponting. What I like about Paaji (Sachin) is that he is still such a humble person. Even after achieving so much, he says he is still learning,” he concluded.