What do you know about Rayudu?

In the early monsoon months of 2018, plans were in place to assess the form of an Ambati Rayudu passed the Yo-Yo test and recruit him to the national team as number four. He had just played his most successful IPL season and against touring ‘A’ teams from Australia and South Africa, he was doing well. It seemed that the test had been successful and he would soon be rewarded with a long career in the Indian team.

It has been a long time since his talent was on display as an age group cricketer. But it was a drama-filled 14-year journey since he led India at the 2004 U19 World Cup. He had changed teams, participated in fights and was briefly in the LCI. So how did you look back on that journey?

“Nice” was his simple one word reply. While there was an awkward silence in the room waiting for a detailed answer, he simply smiled from start to finish. Rayudu doesn’t talk much, it’s fine. But was that all for his trip? Not.

He is a complex character, who draws the extremes of humility and hostility. He retires disappointed one day and then retirements because he realizes that the game is not over yet. He gets into fistfights, rants on social media, and protests against referees’ decisions by refusing to leave the field. He hopes to fight corruption by complaining to the alleged corrupt. Her career has also been so complex and puzzling to understand.

After his 100th A-List debut, it took him 13 more years to break another. In international cricket, he averages in his late 40s and yet he has always struggled to find permanence. From his cricket, there has been ample evidence of talent, but he hasn’t put in enough performances. And when she gave birth, it wasn’t noticeable enough. And when it was noticed enough, the quest to find more dimensions in her game began.

In his 19-year career in the top flight, he has seen a lot, but have we seen enough of him? At a time when he should have been sparking nostalgia, he’s still busy showing off his full hitting package.

Even on Saturday, their efforts may have fallen in the shadow of Sam Curran, who scored a crucial 6-ball 18 late, and Faf du Plessis, who ended the chase half a century undefeated after hitting three superb receptions. But that was as complete a T20 hit from Rayudu as it sounds.

Many things worked in his favor, as Virender Sehwag observed on Cricbuzz LIVE: “It was a wicket that suited him well. There wasn’t enough rebound or pace to bother him. He’s always been a good spin player.”

There were also a couple of missed opportunities, but in a field where the players struggled to last long, he lasted longer. And he did, scoring at a faster rate than anyone (of those who faced more than six balls). At a wicket, where many bigger and stronger men failed to clear the fences, his tiny body was enough to send the ball over the ropes more times than anyone else. There was a quick scoring of races without the ugly jobs.

It stabilized and accelerated. There was grace, timing, technique and boldness, none of which have ever diminished, during the breakout of the no-cricket pandemic or all these years of play. It was a testament to the range of skill that the national team was attentive to the entire time in their quest for number four.

Stephen Fleming, the head coach of the Chennai Super Kings, credited Rayudu’s performance as the game changer in the first IPL match. “He has always been motivated with us,” Fleming said after CSK’s victory. “Last year was a difficult year for several players to earn that place in the World Cup team. That occupied many minds and the performance of several of our players. This year, without that, there has been a total commitment to CSK. Rayudu has been an emotional player over the years, but for us he has been fantastic. He turned the game around with his experience and his skill set was an important part of that. ”

It’s interesting how Rayudu, the fickle and emotional personality, finds himself so well-suited to a crowd of so-called quiet men at CSK. Do they understand it? Do you understand them? Or does he just become himself?

Maybe it’s just ‘nice’ out there. We will never know.

There are so many things without hearing from him, so many invisible things, so many unknown. They say decoding MS Dhoni is difficult. Try your luck with Rayudu and you will realize that life is harder.