India batsman Ambati Rayudu has announced his retirement from all forms of cricket after being overlooked by the selectors for the Cricket World Cup squad, Indian media reported on Wednesday. Rayudu, who last played a one-day international (ODI) in March, was not picked in the 15-man World Cup squad. The 33-year-old was not considered as a replacement when India lost opener Shikhar Dhawan and Vijay Shankar to injuries, with Rishabh Pant and Mayank Agarwal called up instead. "I would like to bring to your kind notice that I have come to (a) decision to step away from the sport and retire from all forms and levels of the game," Rayudu said in an email to the country's governing body (BCCI), according to ESPN cricinfo. "I would like to take this opportunity to thank the BCCI and all the state associations that I have represented which include Hyderabad, Baroda, Andhra and Vidharbha." Rayudu, who played over 200 Twenty20 matches, scored over 4,500 runs including one century and 24 fifties. He played 55 ODIs, amassing 1,694 runs with three centuries at an average of 47. — Reuters
