IPL 2022: We Want A Player Like You In Our Team - Robin Uthappa Reveals How Ambati Rayudu Helped Him Bag A CSK Contract

Chennai Super Kings (CSK) opener Robin Uthappa’s journey in the IPL restarted when he joined MS Dhoni and co. from Rajasthan Royals (RR) in an all-cash deal that worked out well for all parties involved.

He had been an important player for Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) but due to a dip in form, his stock began to plummet. Luckily for him, CSK batter Ambati Rayudu gave him a helping hand and aided in his recruitment for the Chennai side.

“Kerala had a Syed Mushtaq game against Andhra in Bombay. Amba [Rayudu] was leading the Andhra side. Rayudu asked, ‘what’s happening with you’. He was like, ‘Bro, I’ll do one thing. I will give you Kasi Sir’s [CSK CEO Kasi Viswanathan] number.

“You call Kasi sir. We want a player like you in our team. Why don’t you give him a call?” Uthappa revealed this in a chat with Ravichandran Ashwin on his YouTube channel.

Soon after, the decision was made and Uthappa had become part of the Yellow Brigade which went on to win the IPL 2021 title in the UAE.

“From RR I got to know that the conversations had begun and we will see where it goes and then Kasi sir called me after two days. I was leaving Bombay. He said, ‘Rob the deal is done. You’re gonna be coming to us.

“MS said that he doesn’t have anything to do with the decision. The support staff believes that you’ll be a great value to our team’,” Uthappa added.

In the IPL 2022 mega auction, Uthappa was once again picked up by CSK for his base price of INR 1 crores. He now plays alongside Ruturaj Gaikwad at the top of the order.

CSK squad for IPL 2022:

Robin Uthappa, Dwayne Bravo, Ravindra Jadeja, Ruturaj Gaikwad, MS Dhoni, Moeen Ali, Ambati Rayudu, Deepak Chahar, KM Asif, Tushar Deshpande, Shivam Dube, Maheesh Theekshana, Rajvardhan Hangargekar, Simarjeet Singh, Devon Conway, Dwaine Pretorius, Mitchell Santner, Adam Milne, Subhranshu Senapati, Mukesh Choudhary, Prashant Solanki, C Hari Nishaanth, N Jagadeesan, Chris Jordan, and K Bhagath Varma.

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