‘Could’ve fired back’: Ambati Rayudu hits back at Kevin Pietersen’s ‘joker’ remark

Ambati Rayudu opens up on Kevin Pietersen’s ‘joker’ remark. (Photo: PTI)

Former India batter Ambati Rayudu took a jab at ex-England captain Kevin Pietersen after his viral on-air 'joker' comment addressed at him following the IPL 2024 final between Kolkata Knight Riders and Sunrisers Hyderabad in Chennai. Rayudu claimed that professional etiquette had stopped him from punching back at the time.

After Kolkata overcame Sunrisers to claim their third title in history, Pietersen, while in conversation with Matthew Hayden and Rayudu on Star Sports, criticized the Indian for switching allegiances.

“I have at least held firm. I wore it and I owned it. You are a joker, always a joker,” Pietersen told Rayudu, pointing towards the jacket he wore.

The former Chennai Super Kings batter reacted, stating, “I am supporting both the teams. I am supporting good cricket."

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Fans and pundits debated the conversation on social media after the "joker" remark caused a lot of discussion.

According to Rayudu, who recalled the incident in Shubhankar Mishra's podcast, changing his jacket while on duty had nothing to do with which side he was supporting. In response, he added, he could have questioned Pietersen's contributions to Royal Challengers Bangalore during his 2009–2010 IPL season.

During the incident, the veteran hitter, who has won six IPL titles with the Mumbai Indians and CSK, claimed he made the decision to uphold professional decorum and respect broadcast etiquette.

“That day we had not picked teams. Chennai was hot, so I had two jackets. On air, he said whatever, but we could also tell him things because he played for RCB and did not do anything. I was maintaining professional decorum. He apologised later, also, for saying that on air. We were just having banter, but people took it in some way. But it affected him more and not me,” Rayudu said.

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Pietersen played for three teams during his IPL career. In two seasons, he scored 329 runs with two fifties for RCB before joining the Delhi Daredevils (2012–2014) and then the now-defunct Rising Pune Supergiant in 2016. Even though he had moments of genius, his IPL career was frequently criticized for being inconsistent, which strengthened Rayudu's on-air remark.