3 ways in which Ambati Rayudu's retirement will help CSK in IPL 2024
Ambati Rayudu capped off his decorated Indian Premier League (IPL) career with the ultimate crowning jewel, helping the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) clinch a record-equaling fifth title earlier this year.
Rayudu played an important cameo in the final against the Gujarat Titans (GT), with his two sixes off Mohit Sharma turning the ride in the high-octane rain-affected contest. He wasn't at his absolute best over the course of the tournament, but managed to produce a short and sweet knock in the summit clash that will be remembered for a long time.
Rayudu had announced his retirement even ahead of the IPL 2023 final. He has now sailed off into the sunset, although his dreams of playing in overseas leagues have hit a slight roadblock thanks to the BCCI.
CSK, meanwhile, will prepare for life without one of their greatest-ever players. The Men in Yellow will undoubtedly miss Rayudu ahead of the upcoming season, but there are also ways in which his absence will benefit the franchise. It's always good to look at the positives, eh?
Here are three ways in which Ambati Rayudu's retirement will help CSK in IPL 2024.
#3 CSK will be able to use their impact player with more freedom
CSK started out IPL 2023 by using Ambati Rayudu as their batting impact player, switching him out with bowlers of their choice. As time wore on, an injury to Shivam Dube's finger meant that they needed to shield the tall southpaw from fielding.
That helped Rayudu, who was on the field during the fielding innings and accrued more time in the middle to help him gain some rhythm. The same reflected in his batting as he made some important contributions towards the latter stages of the tournament.
Ideally, though, CSK will want to have a little more flexibility with respect to their impact player usage. If they can reduce the number of specialist batters in their top four, they will be able to give themselves more than one kind of bowler to sub in, depending upon the conditions.
Specialist batters are becoming obsolete in modern-day T20 cricket, especially those who aren't livewires on the field. Speaking of which...
#2 Chennai will have a younger side that will field better
Ambati Rayudu will be 38 years old by the time IPL 2024 rolls around. He has been an excellent servant of the game, especially for CSK, but there was enough evidence to suggest that the veteran batter's race was close to being run.
Rayudu was not as spry on the field anymore and dealt with a few injuries towards the end of his stint with the Super Kings. He also struggled to get between the wickets as quickly as he once did, for not everyone is MS Dhoni.
CSK clearly understood the value of good fielding in IPL 2023. Devon Conway and Ruturaj Gaikwad led the way, with Ben Stokes, Ravindra Jadeja and Ajinkya Rahane chipping in as well. Even the sub fielders, including Subhranshu Senapati and Shaik Rasheed, had an impact for the Men in Yellow.
Without Rayudu, who has far too many miles on his legs, CSK can build towards the future while also having a better fielding side.
#1 Ambati Rayudu's retirement will free up a significant amount of the Super Kings' purse
CSK went all-out to get Ambati Rayudu at the IPL 2022 mega-auction, shortly after releasing him. The batter fetched ₹6.75 crore, an amount that many scoffed at given his age as well as the expectations from a mega-auction, where teams are meant to focus on their future.
Rayudu delivered 274 runs at a strike rate of 122.32 in the 2022 campaign and followed it up with 158 at a strike rate of 139.82 in the title-winning 2023 season. While he did play a couple of important knocks, he didn't do enough to warrant being paid such a sizeable sum.
CSK haven't hit it out of the park in the last two auctions and have some catch-up work to do in the upcoming seasons. One of the ways in which they can do that is by utilizing the funds freed up by Rayudu's retirement on talented young players or even established stars that plug the holes in their squad.