Ambati Rayudu retires | Rajeev Shukla says 'he had a lot of Cricket left in him, talent wasn't utilised properly for the country' and issues high praise for Rayudu's lofty strokes

Veteran Indian batsman Ambati Rayudu has decided to hang up his boots as he announced his retirement from all forms of cricket on Wednesday. The middle-order batsman has represented India in 55 One Day Internationals and six T20Is. The 33-year-old was overlooked by the selectors when Team India's 15-member World Cup squad was announced earlier this year. He was once again overlooked when all-rounder Vijay Shankar was ruled out of the tournament due to a toe injury and Mayank Agarwal was named as a replacement.

Rayudu's shock retirement did not go down well with the Indian cricket fans as they lashed out at the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) for not respecting his talent. It seemed that the Andhra batsman was assured of a World Cup berth during his impressive run in 2018 and it appeared that India's middle-order woes have been addressed. However, barring a match-winning 90 against New Zealand back in January, he failed to create much impression in the preceding series against Australia which was followed by a home series against the reigning five-time World Champions.

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After the CSK batsman decided to bid adieu to the game, Former Minister and Chairman of IPL Rajeev Shukla took to Twitter and wrote that the middle-order batsman still had a lot of cricket left in him and that the crowded stadiums will miss Rayudu’s entertaining batting. He added that Rayudu’s talent was not utilised to its full potential and he is retiring too soon.

Read Rajeev Shukla's tweets here:

Rayudu’s retirement announcement garnered mixed reactions but what most reaction echoed was that Rayudu has been wronged and that he does have a lot of cricket left in him and netizens believe that he is the answer to India’s number four problem. Let's hope the fans will get to see more of Rayudu on the field in some way or the other. 

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