Ambati Rayudu ready to play as a wicket-keeper in IPL 2022
The Indian Premier League (IPL) revealed the names of 590 cricketers who will go under the hammer in the upcoming IPL 2022 mega auction. Out of these 590 cricketers, 228 are capped players, 355 are uncapped players and seven belong to Associate Nations.
Veteran batsman Ambati Rayudu have also entered the auction after Chennai Super Kings released him ahead of IPL 2022. The Super Kings decided to retain Ravindra Jadeja, MS Dhoni, Ruturaj Gaikwad and Moeen Ali.
Meanwhile, much to everyone’s surprise Rayudu has entered the auction in the wicket-keeper’s category. The 36-year-old Ambati Rayudu is currently at the twilight of his career and sensed that he might not excite the team owners solely as a batsman. However, with an added skill, the veteran will be a great asset to the teams.
Ambati Rayudu has signed up as Wicketkeeper in IPL 2022 Mega Auction, so he's ready to don the Wicketkeeping duties also if needed. A great option for many franchises in the auction.
— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) February 3, 2022
Rayudu has donned the wicket-keeper’s gloves in the past as well. He has stood behind the wicket-keeper whenever MS Dhoni was unavailable for Chennai Super Kings. Ambati Rayudu was also a regular wicket-keeper for his previous franchise Mumbai Indians.
The cricketer from Hyderabad has entered the auction with a base price of INR 2 crore, the highest bracket. It remains to be seen if Rayudu attracts any bid from the 10 franchises.
Ambati Rayudu had an average season for CSK in IPL 2021 scoring 257 runs at an average of 28.55 including two fifties. Overall, he has scored 3916 runs in 175 matches which includes a hundred and 21 half-centuries. He played a significant role in IPL 2018, helping Chennai Super Kings lift their third IPL title after return to the league after serving a ban of two years.
The IPL 2022 mega auction is scheduled to take place in Bengaluru on February 12 and 13.
