Ambati Rayudu, the Hyderabad and India batsman called time on his cricket career after he was snubbed from the World Cup selection despite spots opening in the team twice due to injuries.

First Rishabh Pant was chosen to replace Shikhar Dhawan, who fractured his hand against Australia and now Mayank Agarwal replaced Vijay Shankar, who injured his toe in practice. Rayudu had earlier tweeted about buying 3D glasses to watch the World Cup after Vijay Shankar was selected for the no.4 spot in the batting lineup.

Rayudu was the first choice for the spot in 2018 after a sparkling IPL 11 brought him back into the limelight. However, the first half of 2019 saw his form dwindle on away tours of Australia and New Zealand and he tumbled down the ladder of World Cup selection. 

In his email to senior BCCI officials, accessed by CricketNext, Rayudu hasn’t made any reference to the decision made by the selectors.  Rayudu has thanked the BCCI for the “honor and privilege” of representing the country and thanked the various captains he has played under.

Ambati Rayudu made 1674 runs in 55 ODIs and 42 runs in 6 T20I matches for India.

Here is what Rayudu mentioned in his email to BCCI:

“I would like to bring to your kind notice that I have come to decision to step away from the sport and retire from all forms and levels of the game,” Rayudu’s email reads. “I would like to take this opportunity to thank the BCCI and all the state associations that I have represented which include Hyderabad, Baroda, Andhra and Vidarbha. I also would like to thank the two IPL franchises MI and CSK for their support. It has been an honor and privilege to have represented our country.”

“I would like to thank the captains I have played under, MS Dhoni, Rohit Sharma and especially Virat Kohli who always had shown great belief in me throughout my career with the Indian team. It has been a wonderful journey of playing the sport and learning from every up and down it brought up on for the last 25 years at various different levels. Finally, I would like to thank my family and all the well-wishers who have been with me throughout this wonderful journey.”

Thanking you sir,

Yours sincerely

Ambati Rayudu”