Ambati Rayudu clears air on ‘CPL pullout’ rumours

Former India cricketer Ambati Rayudu has cleared the air on ‘CPL pullout’ rumors. Recently, it was reported that he and Blessing Muzarbani pulled out of the tournament due to personal reasons. However, the former Chennai Super Kings player has put up a tweet and cleared that he has signed for only a specific period and had prior commitments before the ongoing season.

Talking about Rayudu’s journey outside of IPL, he had to pull out of the Texas Super Kings ahead of the Major League Cricket 2023. Apparently, before the tournament, the Indian Cricket Board applied a rule in which retired players had to go through a one-year cooling period. However, the former Mumbai Indians player still managed to play in the Caribbean Premier League.

St Kitts and Nevis Patriots’ management never mentioned Ambati Rayudu’s contract details

Notably, after Rayudu was signed for the 2021 winners, the franchise management didn’t mention about him playing for only a few games.

Patriots owner Mahesh Ramani said in a statement, “I am sure Ambati’s seasoned expertise of having won multiple championships with various teams in an illustrious career in India will undoubtedly enrich the experience of our young players as we chase our second CPL title in 2023.”

TA Adhishwar, the director of cricket at Patriots, is also looking forward to working with Rayudu: “I am really excited to welcome Ambati to the St Kitts & Nevis Patriots. He is one of the most decorated players in the IPL and we have seen how important experience is in big tournaments like this. I look forward to him sharing his wealth of experience with the team.”

Apart from Rayudu, Zimbabwe international Blessing Muzarbani has also pulled out. They have been replaced by Ben Howell and Will Smeed from England.