Rayudu withdraws from CPL due to personal reasons

Ambati Rayudu who announced his retirement from the Indian Premier League earlier this year ended his stint with the Caribbean Premier League’s outfit St Kitts and Nevis Patriots due to personal reasons. A report said that Rayudu has cut short his time with St Kitts and Nevis Patriots due to personal reasons. Rayudu featured in three innings for Patriots in the ongoing edition, scoring 47 runs scoring with a strike rate of 117.50. His scores in the three innings were 0, 32 and 15. Two weeks ago, Rayudu was announced as the marquee player for the Patriots, this made him just the second Indian to play in the men’s CPL after Pravin Tambe. Along with Rayudu, Zimbabwe pacer Blessing Muzarabani has also left the tournament due to personal reasons. The 26-year-old played three games for Patriots and picked up one wicket with an economy of 10.61. English fast bowler Benny Howell and top-order batter Will Smeed have been called up to replace Rayudu and Muzarabani in the Patriots squad for the current edition. Rayudu, who aided Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in their quest for the fifth IPL title in May this year, was also unveiled as a Texas Super Kings player for Major League Cricket (MLC). He was one of their signings for the inaugural Major League Cricket competition in the USA. But five days before the beginning of the inaugural season, Rayudu had to pull out of the tournament due to the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) proposal to introduce a one-year cooling-off period for retired Indian players before they participate in overseas franchise leagues. Rayudu was called in as the replacement of South Africa all-rounder Tristan Stubbs, who was no longer available for CPL 2023. Stubbs is a part of South Africa’s squad for the three-match T20I series against Australia.