'You can't do that, have seen it with Prithvi...': Gavaskar blasts Rayudu, questions Impact Player rule after RR win

Sunil Gavaskar believes one of the major reasons behind Rayudu's dismissal was that he did not field vs RR and was only brought in as an Impact Player.

MS Dhoni is not the only Chennai Super Kings cricketer who is perhaps playing his IPL this year. Ambati Rayudu too has reached the twilight of his career but unlike Dhoni, he is not having the best of finishes with the bat. The former India cricketer has managed to score 83 runs in eight outings in IPL 2023 at an average of 16.60 - the lowest in his 14-year-long career in the cash-rich league.

Sunil Gavaskar and Ambati Rayudu

In this edition of the IPL, he has been mostly used only as a batter or an Impact Player by CSK. Thursday, against the Rajasthan Royals at Jaipur, it was no different. Rayudu was brought in as an Impact Player in place of left-arm pacer Aakash Singh. But the right-hander failed to make an impact.

Coming in to bat at No.4 in CSK's 203-run chase, Rayudu was out for a second-ball duck while trying to play a big shot against RR's off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin. He went for a big slog sweep but did not get the desired timing and was holed out at deep mid-wicket. There was no power in the shot. And legendary Indian cricketer Sunil Gavaskar believes one of the major reasons behind that was the fact that Rayudu did not play any part in the match till then. He did not field and was drafted in as an Impact Player, which means he probably wasn't warmed up properly.

Gavaskar also gave Delhi Capitals batter Prithvi Shaw's example to strengthen his point. "You got to field. You can't just come out to bat and start hitting the ball. You can't do that. We have seen that with Prithvi Shaw. He has just been coming out to bat without success. No fielding, no scoring. Rayudu is out for a second-ball duck," Gavaskar said on commentary when Rayudu got out.

Opting to bat, RR rode on Yashasvi Jaiswal's 43-ball 77 to reach a competitive 202 for five. Jaiswal and Jos Buttler (27 off 21) shared 86 runs in 8.2 overs as RR made a brilliant start.

Young Dhruv Jurel smashed 34 off 15 balls, while Devdutt Padikkal remained unbeaten on 23 off 13 deliveries to power RR past the 200-run mark. For CSK, Tushar Deshpande picked up two wickets giving away 42 runs from his four overs. Chasing, CSK never looked in the fray as they kept on losing wickets at regular intervals to be restricted to 170 for six.

Shivam Dube (52 off 33) and opener Ruturaj Gaikwad (47 off 29) and top-scored for CSK.Adam Zampa scalped three wickets for RR, giving away 22 runs.