Chennai Super Kings faced defeat while Punjab Kings emerged victorious. MS Dhoni batted at the fifth position. Devon Conway was retired out to allow Ravindra Jadeja to take his place, but it was former Indian cricketer Ambati Rayudu who captured the attention of social media.

Rayudu began trending immediately after Punjab Kings secured an 18-run win over Chennai Super Kings in an IPL 2025 match held in Mullanpur on Tuesday. He has frequently been at the center of social media discussions since he publicly expressed his views on MS Dhoni and CSK.

Fans began to mock Rayudu, a long-time supporter of CSK and a vocal critic of Royal Challengers Bengaluru.

Rayudu recently engaged in a heated discussion with fellow commentator Sanjay Bangar during an ESPNcricinfo panel focused on the ongoing IPL 2025 season. The conversation highlighted Rayudu's vigorous defense of CSK and Dhoni, which contrasted sharply with Bangar's criticism of the Mumbai Indians' (MI) tactics.

The debate began as the panel analyzed MI's choice to utilize former captain Rohit Sharma as an Impact Substitute, a decision that has limited the five-time IPL champion to a specialist batting role under the current captain, Hardik Pandya. Sanjay Bangar, a former batting coach for India, contended that Rohit’s absence from the field was detrimental to MI's leadership. “I believe Rohit’s lack of presence on the field is a setback from a leadership standpoint. He could provide Hardik with valuable insights,” Bangar stated, underscoring the importance of Rohit’s experience.

In response, Rayudu quickly defended Hardik’s independence as captain. “I don’t believe Hardik requires input. A captain should be allowed to operate independently,” he interjected, drawing comparisons to the leadership styles of MS Dhoni and Virat Kohli, who thrived without constant oversight. “Dhoni wasn’t always in their ears, nor was Rohit. So why should Hardik have ten people advising him?” Rayudu argued, clearly frustrated by Bangar’s remarks.

The exchange intensified when Bangar attempted to reply, only for Rayudu to interject, “No captain should be left alone, Sanjay bhai,” which prompted a sharp comeback from Bangar. “Your perspective is different because you’ve never captained an IPL team. Here’s a man who has led his team to multiple IPL titles,” Bangar retorted, highlighting Rayudu’s lack of captaincy experience in contrast to Rohit’s distinguished leadership history.

This fiery debate did not go unnoticed on social media. Fans, especially those supporting rival teams like Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) and MI, took to X to share memes and comments, labeling Rayudu as a “Dhoni fanboy” and accusing him of unwavering loyalty to CSK. One popular post stated, “Ambati Rayudu defending CSK and Dhoni like...

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