Dear Ambati Rayudu,
This world somehow doesn’t recognize the value of consistency. Somehow it forgets the man who have been delivering day in day out behind closed doors. Somehow it doesn’t remember the hero who would fight for you without even saying a word, not caring for the fact that how many sacrifices he has done.
Ambati Rayudu, you are one such hero. You didn’t say a word all these years for CSK and yet your bat spoke louder than those blaring baritones of all those critiques who wrote you off. Somehow very silently you would fight your way through to a slick transition of the middle order and the top-order for CSK and yet people wouldn’t know.
Somehow you would just pull off those absolute mid-air rippers and then you would be overshadowed by someone else who would pull of a gun throw as the stumps would go for a walk. However, you would still put in those hard yard with your lips zipped.
Ambati Rayudu, I believe we owe you an apology.
Sorry that we couldn’t give you the limelight you deserved and yet here I very proudly say that you will be one of those unsung heroes on whom a captain can very blindly rely. You are one of those giants who would pose a significant threat and yet won’t go boasting about it.
What an incredible journey it has been for you and you have been at your peak ever since the time you joined the Chennai Super Kings. They say that peak is just about the Orange Cap and the Purple Cap or maybe a handful of centuries or wickets. Actually, no, it is more about how consistent you are and how you make good use of the same.
You are a hero who never needed a shoutout and yet were ready to sacrifice everything at one word of your captain. If this isn’t heroic, then what is? I would never know. Thank you, Ambati. Thank you for everything and most importantly thank you for that very special 19 runs that you scored off just 8 balls yesterday. I would always remember that swansong of yours. Thank you for everything.
Yours sincerely,
A crazy cricket fan
