Ambati Rayudu Clarifies Why he Decided to Move on From Politics Ahead of ILT20

Former Indian cricketer, Ambati Rayudu revealed his reasons as to why he decided to part ways with Yuvajana Sramika Rythu Congress Party just days after announcing his involvement in politics by affiliating himself with the same party. The 38-year-old joined the YSRCP party on the 28th of December, before stating that he would quit on the 6th of January.

Rayudu clarified his stance by saying, ” Due to some reasons and I have not seen myself fulfilling my dream of going forward with ysrcp. No blames. My ideology and ysrcp’s ideologies have not aligned and it has definitely nothing to do with contesting elections for x and y seat.”

Rayudu previously announced his departure from Jagan Reddy’s party in a post shared on his social media that for him to be playing professional cricket, he had to be politically non-affiliated.

The batter has had an illustrious career playing for India and the domestic format where he had a trophy-laden career representing both Mumbai Indians and the Chennai Super Kings. He started off playing for the Mumbai Indians from 2010 to 2017 followed by the switch to the rival side, CSK where he played from 2018 to 2023.

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He also had a brief stint in the Carribean Premier League where he played for the St. Kitts and Nevis Patriots as well making him among the very few Indian players who have played in the domestic franchise cricket league in the Caribbean.

Rayudu also mentioned that he would be taking part in the ILT20 league where he would represent the MI Emirates franchise for the upcoming season.

The ILT20 will take place in three venues in the UAE: Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Sharjah, between January 19 and February 17.

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The MI Emirates managed to make it through to the play-offs and beat the Dubai Capitals in the eliminator but were knocked out by the eventual champions Gulf Giants in the Qualifier 2 fixture by four wickets. The side will hope the addition of Rayudu will provide the side the experience required to help them secure the title.