[Picture] “Awesome to be back on the park” – Ambati Rayudu reacts ahead of CPL 2023 debut for St Kitts & Nevis Patriots

Indian Premier League (IPL) legend Ambati Rayudu has officially joined the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) franchise of the St Kitts and Nevis Patriots. He has been named as a replacement for South Africa all-rounder Tristan Stubbs, who wasn’t available for the tournament.

With this, Rayudu has also become the second Indian player to join the T20 league. Veteran leg-spinner Pravin Tambe was the first player to join the men’s CPL in 2020.

On Thursday, August 17, the 37-year-old took to X (previously known as Twitter) to share a picture of himself in the Patriots jersey.

He captioned the post:

“Awesome to be back on the park.. excited to be a part of the @sknpatriots and the @CPL..”

Rayudu, who retired from the IPL after the 2023 season, was earlier named as one of the signings of the Texas Super Kings ahead of Major League Cricket (MLC).

He, however, pulled out of the tournament five days ahead of the inaugural season. That came as the BCCI introduced a cool-off period for retired Indian players before they join overseas franchise leagues.

On his joining, Patriots owner Mahesh Ramani said:

"I am sure Ambati's seasoned expertise of having won multiple championships with various teams in an illustrious career in India will undoubtedly enrich the experience of our young players as we chase our second CPL title in 2023."

TA Adhirshwar, Director of Cricket at Patriots, added:

"I am really excited to welcome Ambati to the St Kitts & Nevis Patriots. He is one of the most decorated players in the IPL and we have seen how important experience is in big tournaments like this. I look forward to him sharing his wealth of experience with the team."

---

Ambati Rayudu has over 6000 runs in T20s

Ambati Rayudu comes with a wealth of experience in T20 cricket. In the IPL, he played 204 games, scoring 4,348 runs at a strike rate of 127.54, including 22 half-centuries and one ton.

The middle-order batter won trophies three times each with the Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings.

Overall, Ambati Rayudu has amassed 6,028 runs in 291 T20s so far, including one hundred and 31 half-centuries.

St Kitts & Nevis Patriots squad for CPL 2023: Evin Lewis, Andre Fletcher, Shrefane Rutherford, Dominic Drakes, Sheldon Cottrell, George Linde, Yannic Cariah, Oshane Thomas, Corbin Bosch, Dewald Brevis, Jyd Goolie, Izharulhaq Naveed, Kofi James, Joshua da Silva, Ashmead Nedd, Johann Layne, Ambati Rayudu.

The Patriots, 2021 winners, will begin their CPL 2023 campaign against three-time champions Trinbago Knight Riders at the Daren Sammy National Cricket Stadium at Gros Islet in St. Lucia on Saturday, August 19.