Ambati Rayudu Ventures Into Andhra Pradesh Politics; Joins YSRCP

VIJAYWADA: Former Indian cricketer Ambati Rayudu on Thursday joined the Yuvajana Sramika Rythu Congress Party (YSRCP) in the presence of Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy at CM office in Vijayawada.

Andhra Pradesh Deputy CM Narayana Swamy and MP Peddireddy Mithun Reddy along with Jagan Mohan Reddy welcomed the former cricketer to the party.

A video of the program was shared on the official X (formerly Twitter) handle of YSRCP.

“Famous Indian cricketer Ambati Tirupati Rayudu joined the YSR Congress Party in the presence of Chief Minister Shri YS Jagan at the CM Camp office. Deputy CM Narayana Swamy and MP Peddireddy Mithun Reddy participated in this program,” the tweet by YSRCP read.

Ambati Rayudu retired from all forms of cricket after the 2023 Indian Premier League (IPL) season. He has also represented Andhra Pradesh and Hyderabad in domestic cricket.

The former India One Day International (ODI) specialist retired from international cricket after being overlooked for the 2019 World Cup in England.

Almost a month after announcing his retirement from cricket, Rayudu officially announced his second innings in Andhra Pradesh politics.

“I shall soon enter politics in Andhra Pradesh to serve the people. Before that, I have decided to visit different parts of the district to know the people’s pulse and understand their problems,” he had said while speaking to reporters during his visit to Mutluru village in June this year.

It was being speculated that the former cricketer would contest the 2024 Lok Sabha elections from either Guntur or Machilipatnam parliamentary constituency in Andhra Pradesh. Rayudu, however, denied the claims.