Ambati Rayudu retired as an IPL legend and in the best way possible, equalling Rohit Sharma’s tally of 6 IPL trophies, in IPL 2023, and playing a crucial cameo in the final for CSK vs GT.
Ambati Rayudu featured for Mumbai Indians from 2010 to 2018 and since then he’d been part of CSK until IPL 2023, which was his last IPL season. Overall, the Hyderabad right-hander scored 4348 runs in the IPL with 22 fifties and 1 century.
CSK will now have to replace Ambati Rayudu in their XI for IPL 2024. They have a couple of handy options in their current squad, but they might want to look for a couple of alternatives in the IPL 2024 auction as well.
Here are 3 players who can replace Ambati Rayudu in CSK’s XI next year:
Dinesh Bana
A young, lower-order power-hitter like Dinesh Bana going unsold in the IPL 2023 auction was a bit of a surprise to many.
Bana had had his MS Dhoni-esque moment when he smashed 2 consecutive sixes to win India the under-19 World Cup final in 2022 against England U-19. In that tournament, Bana gained a reputation as a big ball muscler: he scored only 63 runs in 5 matches but scored them at an astronomical strike rate of 190.
Since then, however, Bana hasn’t done anything impressive to note: he averaged 14 at a strike rate of 110 in 8 T20 matches, although he got to bat very late in the order. Nonetheless, franchises might want to invest in a potential finisher and keeper who is only 18 years of age. That franchise could be CSK.
Subhranshu Senapati
26-year-old Subhranshu Senapati got plenty of love from the CSK management and the fans for his excellent fielding in a couple of important moments in the IPL 2023. The Orissa captain has a good domestic record: he averages in the 30s in all three formats in domestic cricket.
Subhranshu Senapati has been in CSK’s squad for two seasons, and although he hasn’t gotten any IPL game yet, it seems CSK have faith in the player and might give him a go next season.
Mohammed Azharuddeen
There are few uncapped players in the domestic circuit who could match the clean-hitting and power of Kerala’s Mohammed Azharuddeen. So, it was another surprise and a big disappointment when no team bid for him in the IPL 2023 auction, and before that he was with RCB in 2021.
Azharuddeen made a name for himself with a blockbuster century in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy off only 37 balls, a record for the second-fastest century in the SMAT. He has a strike rate of 134 in T20 cricket at an average of 22; Azharuddeen has shown versatility in playing both the top-order hitter’s role and a powerful finisher’s role.
He hasn’t really lit up domestic cricket in a recent while, but being a wicketkeeper he brings more value. CSK could eye Mohammed Azharuddeen not just as Ambati Rayudu’s replacement, but also as a backup Indian keeper to MS Dhoni.
