Ambati Rayudu joins St Kitts & Nevis Patriots as marquee player for CPL 2023

Ambati Rayudu can participate in the CPL 2023 only if he gets an approval from BCCI.

Former India cricketer Ambati Rayudu has joined St. Kitts & Nevis Patriots team as a marquee player ahead of the upcoming Caribbean Premier League (CPL 2023) season. He still needs clearance from the BCCI to become only the second Indian to appear in CPL.

After aiding Chennai Super Kings win their fifth IPL championship in May of this year, Rayudu, 37, announced his retirement from both international and Indian cricket. Then, Texas Super Kings revealed Rayudu as one of their new additions for the country’s first Major League Cricket competition.  

But five days before the league’s start, Ambati Rayudu withdrew after the BCCI planned to require retired Indian players to wait a year before taking part in foreign franchise competitions.

If cleared, Ambati Rayudu will become the second Indian after Pravin Tambe to play in the men’s CPL

If BCCI gives Ambati Rayudu clearance, it will make him only the second Indian to play in the CPL tournament. Leg-spinner Pravin Tambe was the first Indian to play in the men’s CPL when he was with Trinbago Knight Riders in 2020.

Apart from them, two other Indian-born players Sunny Sohal and Smit Patel – have played in the men’s CPL, but they qualified as USA players. This season will also see Shreyanka Patil become the first Indian to take part in the Women’s CPL, having been signed up by Guyana Amazon Warriors.

Rayudu is slated to join former Tamil Nadu all-rounder Malolan Rangarajan, who has replaced Simon Helmot as the Patriots’ head coach.  

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.”

Rayudu brings with him the experience of having played over 100 IPL games and having won six IPL titles – the most along with Rohit Sharma. He will join the South African quartet of Dewald Brevis, Tristan Stubbs, Corbin Bosch and George Linde, and Afghanistan’s Izharulhaq Naveed as Patriots’ overseas players.

The men’s CPL 2023 will be played across five islands in the Caribbean from August 16 to September 24.

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