Former England cricketer-turned-commentator Kevin Pietersen has slammed trolls to stop the abuse against him and former Indian cricketer Ambati Rayudu. Pietersen and Rayudu engaged in banter after the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 final between Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR). As Rayudu said that ‘Orange Cap’ doesn’t win the franchise the IPL trophy, he was being trolled on social media. Also during the conversation, Pietersen called Rayudu ‘Joker’.
Pietersen wrote on X on May 28: “Come on guys! This tribalism with/against Indian players on social media needs to slow down! Example - @RayuduAmbati and I were messing around after the IPL final and all of sudden that banter has turned into an avalanche of abuse towards Ambati. PLEASE stop it?”
In the IPL 2024 final, Rayudu was supporting SRH and wore the orange Nehru jacket which he later replaced with a purple blazer. Pietersen and Matthew Hayden trolled Rayudu after KKR's one-sided victory.
"Thank you for bringing out the fact that he changed from orange to blue," said host Mayanti Langer.
"I've at least held firm. I wore it, and I owned it," said Pietersen, pointing out his purple dress. You are a joker, always a joker," he added.
"I am supporting both the teams. I am supporting good cricket," responded Rayudu.
Rayudu’s criticism of RCB
Rayudu has praised Virat Kohli and criticised the Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s (RCB) approach. He even went on to say that players want to match Kohli and have not been able to match his intensity.
"If you talk about RCB today, it shows that only passion and celebrations don't win you trophies. You need to plan. You didn't get the IPL trophy just by reaching the playoffs. You have to play with the same hunger. Don't think you will win the IPL trophy just by beating CSK. You will have to come next year once again. They need to show more faith in Indians, especially in Indian talent. I don't think in the past 16 years any Indian batter apart from Virat Kohli has scored more than 1000 runs, and Virat is at 8000. That shows that you don't have any confidence in Indian talent," Rayudu said on Star Sports.
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