Former India cricketer Ambati Rayudu on Thursday joined the YSR Congress Party in the presence of Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy.
Andhra Deputy CM Narayana Swamy and MP Peddireddy Mithun Reddy were also present during the welcoming ceremony for Rayudu.
"Famous Indian cricketer Ambati Tirupati Rayudu joined the YSR Congress Party in the presence of Chief Minister Shri YS Jagan at the CM Camp office.
"Deputy CM Narayana Swamy and MP Peddireddy Mithun Reddy participated in this program," the tweet by YSRCP read.
Rayudu joins elite list of cricketer-turned-politicians
There is speculation that Ambati Rayudu might participate in the upcoming Andhra Pradesh Assembly elections or the Lok Sabha polls scheduled for April-May next year.
Rayudu is considering a move into politics, aligning himself with a select group of Indian cricketers who have ventured into the political arena.
Notable individuals in this group include Tiger Pataudi, Kirti Azad, Mohammed Azharuddin, Navjot Singh Sidhu, Chetan Chauhan, and Gautam Gambhir, to name a few.
Long-time coming
Rayudu had revealed his plans of joining politics earlier this year when he was touring the rural areas of Guntur.
“I shall soon enter politics in Andhra Pradesh to serve the people. Before that, I have decided to visit different parts of the district to know the people’s pulse and understand their problems.
"I shall come out with a concrete action plan on how to go about in politics and which platform I would choose,”,” Rayudu had said in June.
Rayudu's career in numbers
The 38-year-old from Guntur retired from all forms of international cricket after being snubbed from India's squad for the 2019 ODI World Cup in England.
Four years later he announced his decision to retire from the Indian Premier League after lifting the IPL 2023 title with Chennai Super Kings.
Rayudu played 55 ODIs and 6 T20Is for Team India from 2013 to 2019. He amassed 1694 runs in 50-overs cricket, including 3 centuries and 10 fifties, but managed just 42 in the shortest format for the Men in Blue.
