Former India cricketer Ambati Rayudu announces entry in politics

Ambati Rayudu retired from the game after winning the IPL 2023 final with the Chennai Super Kings.

Chennai Super Kings won the 16th edition of the Indian Premier League recently, beating Gujarat Titans in the final. They will enter the next season as the defending champions but will be without Ambati Rayudu. The 37-year-old announced his retirement from the IPL and will not be part of the CSK squad for the next season. However, for a cricketer, it is normal to retire after the age of 35.

But most of the cricketers tend to start their second innings with commentary or as cricket experts. But it seems that Rayudu has made some other plans for the second innings of his life. The former CSK star is currently touring his native district in Guntur to understand the issues and problems that locals are facing at ground level. In his latest interview with local reporters, he also confirmed that he would enter politics soon.

"I shall soon enter politics in Andhra Pradesh"- Ambati Rayudu

On Wednesday, the Ambati Rayudu visited Mutluru village in Vatticherukuru block district to meet the needs and requirements of the locals. He said to reporters, "I shall soon enter politics in Andhra Pradesh to serve the people. Before that, I have decided to visit different parts of the district to know the people’s pulse and understand their problems. I shall come out with a concrete action plan on how to go about in politics and which platform I would choose."

During his visit, he talked to school students and also shared lunch with them. He also talked with them about the problems facing students at the school. However, it is still not confirmed that the former CSK star will join which political party, but in one of his posts on April 19, praising the Andhra Pradesh chief minister for his speech, he indicates that he might join the YS Jagan Mohan Reddy-led YSR Congress. He even met the AP CM after winning the IPL title with CSK, and he shared a post on his Twitter account about the same.

Notably, the 37-year-old also took an indirect dig at the opposition Telugu Desam Party president, N Chandrababu Naidu, by stating that the construction of an IT company building doesn't meet expectations. However, when asked about which party he would join, Ambati Rayudu said, "I shall decide on which platform I would choose, only after touring every village and town in Guntur."