Ambati Rayudu vehemently denied fake quotes attributed to him criticising Ruturaj Gaikwad‘s captaincy during CSK’s loss at home against Lucknow.
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Chennai Super Kings lost their fourth match of the season when the Lucknow Super Giants chased down 211 at the Chepauk courtesy of a brilliant unbeaten hundred by Marcus Stoinis.
CSK captain Ruturaj Gaikwad had also scored a hundred in the first innings, but wasn’t able to martial his troops well enough to defend 87 runs in the last six overs of Lucknow’s chase.
According to a MensXP report – titled “IPL 2024: Ambati Rayudu’s hypocrisy gets exposed on live TV as CSK lose to LSG” – Rayudu, the CSK mainstay who retired last year, criticised Gaikwad’s captaincy on air, with the words “Poor field placements in death overs by Ruturaj. We clearly saw a lack of experience as captain.”
The report also mentioned how Navjot Singh Sidhu, commentating alongside Rayudu, called out his hypocrisy by pointing out how MS Dhoni is given the credit for victories but not the blame for defeats.
“If you credit Dhoni for CSK wins then blame him for the losses too. Dhoni is still the main think tank,” said Sidhu, according to the MensXP report.
Rayudu took to X (Twitter) to debunk the report and the quotes today (April 25): “I was not even commentating on the said day,” Rayudu wrote. “I was at my farm picking mangoes.. please be responsible when writing something.. don’t spread nonsense..”
https://t.co/2bzFkwTpn9 @MensXP I was not even commentating on the said day.. I was at my farm picking mangoes.. please be responsible when writing something.. don’t spread nonsense..
— ATR (@RayuduAmbati) April 25, 2024
A few days back, Rayudu had compared the cultural differences between CSK and MI, having been a part of both franchises for several years. He explained how CSK’s is a more peaceful team environment focusing more on the process, while MI have always looked to focus on winning, no matter what.
CSK, currently fifth on the points table with eight points from eight games, face SRH next on April 28 in Chennai.
