Ambati Rayudu backtracks after announcing "IPL retirement"
Mumbai, May 14: The unrest in Chennai Super Kings camp once again came to the forefront after senior batter Ambati Rayudu announced his "IPL retirement" on social media, only to backtrack within an hour after being talked out of it by the team management.
CSK are already out of play-off race with couple of matches left but already former skipper Ravindra Jadeja has gone home with a "bruised rib" but not before adding fuel to the speculations that he has had a fall-out with management after being told relinquish captaincy.
On Saturday morning, the 36-year-old former India white-ball player took to twitter to announce his decision.
"I am happy to announce that this will be my last ipl. I have had a wonderful time playing it and being a part of 2 great teams for 13 years. Would love to sincerely thank Mumbai Indians and Csk for the wonderful journey," Rayudu had tweeted.
But within an hour, the post was deleted as CSK owners and team management were completely caught unawares about Rayudu's decision which also raised questions about the communication channel in one of the most successful teams in IPL history.
"I can confirm that Ambati Rayudu is not retiring from IPL. Yes, he did tweet about it. May be it was in an emotional state he tweeted. He has been spoken to and subsequently deleted the tweet," CSK CEO Kasi Viswanathan told PTI.
It is not the first time Rayudu made U-turn from retirement decision. He made news following his "3 dimensional" tweet aimed at India selector MSK Prasad in the backdrop of his exclusion from World Cup 2019 squad.
Subsequently, Rayudu retired from international cricket in July the same year only to overturn his decision.
During his over-decade IPL career, Rayudu, an IPL legend, represented two franchises. He was first picked up by Mumbai Indians in 2010 after being granted amensty by BCCI to return to the main fold following his stint in the de-recognised Indian Cricket League in 2007 and stayed there till 2017.
Rayudu is one of the most successful players in the IPL as he has been part of the title-winning sides on five occasions (2013, 2015, 2017 with Mumbai Indians and 2018, 2021 with Chennai Super Kings).
In his entire IPL career, Rayudu, 36, accounted for 4,187 runs at an average of 29.28, scoring one century and 22 fifties.
The Hyderabad middle-order batter also is the 10th Indian to reach the milestone of 4,000 runs in IPL.
In the ongoing IPL season, Rayudu has scored 271 runs at a strike-rate of 124 but has often been seen struggling for fitness on the ground.
In the last IPL in the UAE, Rayudu scored 257 runs from 13 innings with a tournament-best of 72 not out. He was retained by CSK but later the four-time champions successfully picked his up for Rs 6.75 crore.
Rayudu played 55 ODIs and six T20Is for India, accumulating 1694 and 42 runs respectively. His best score in the ODIs is 124 not out against Zimbabwe at the Harare Sports Club in 2015.
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UP Cong holds statewide protest seeking probe into FIR against Swami Avimukteshwaranand
Lucknow (PTI): The Uttar Pradesh Congress on Wednesday staged a statewide protest demanding a fair and transparent inquiry into the FIR lodged against Swami Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati and those who filed the complaint against him.
In a statement issued here, the party said memorandums addressed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi were submitted through district magistrates in all districts of the state.
Uttar Pradesh Congress spokesperson Manish Hindvi told PTI that the memorandums were handed over through the district administration in all 75 districts.
In the memorandum, the party alleged that Saraswati and his disciples were "unnecessarily harassed and humiliated" by police on the occasion of Amavasya and were prevented from taking a ritual bath (at the Magh Mela). It further alleged that some disciples were manhandled and taken to a police station.
The memorandum also claimed that an FIR was later registered against Saraswati, his disciple Swami Mukundanand Brahmachari and several unidentified persons in a sexual harassment case. It termed the case a "conspiracy" aimed at tarnishing the seer's reputation.
Citing Articles 25 and 26 of the Constitution, the memorandum stated that these provisions guarantee religious freedom and the right of religious denominations to manage their own affairs.
It described the position of shankaracharya held by Saraswati as "one of the highest spiritual posts in Sanatan tradition" and alleged that the entire episode appeared to have been "orchestrated in a planned manner".
"We request that the background of the persons who got the FIR registered be investigated in a transparent manner by a retired high court judge and strict action be taken against them," the memorandum said.
It also sought a "fair and transparent probe" into the allegations levelled against Saraswati so that the truth could be established.
Earlier, Uttar Pradesh Congress president Ajay Rai had told reporters in Varanasi after meeting Saraswati that the party stood firmly with him.
The Congress said it would continue to press for an impartial inquiry into the entire episode.
On February 21, an FIR was lodged in Prayagraj against Saraswati and his disciple Mukundanand Brahmachari on charges of sexually abusing two persons, including a minor, over the past year at a gurukul and religious congregations, including the recently concluded Magh Mela.
Days after he was booked, Saraswati had said on Monday that he would not oppose his arrest and asserted that the "fabricated story" would be exposed sooner or later.
At a press conference on Wednesday, Saraswati alleged that criminals rule in Uttar Pradesh, level allegations and influence investigations, as he denied having any contact with the two persons for whose alleged sexual abuse he has been booked.
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