Ambati Rayudu recently opened up on the selectors' decision to drop him from the 2019 ODI World Cup. The former cricketer underlined the issues he had with a member of the selection committee that ultimately led to his non-selection.
"I had some issues with the member of the selection committee when I was playing with them in the early stages of my career, which might be one of the reasons why I was out of the team in World Cup 2019," Rayudu told TV9 Telugu.
Rayudu retired from all forms of cricket after helping Chennai Super Kings (CSK) with its fifth Indian Premier League (IPL) title in 2023. Rayudu will be remembered as a winning player. The right-handed batter wasn't always the flashy name in the star-studded teams he played for during his career but the job that he did was nothing short of impeccable. A true IPL great, Rayudu finished with six IPL titles to his name.
There was a time between 2017 and 2019 when Rayudu was becoming an indispensable name in Team India. With the Men in Blue struggling to find a solid batter for the No.4 position, the Rayudu made the spot his own by scoring impactful runs for the team and digging the side out of a hole whenever the opportunity presented itself.
Just when the right-handed batter was on course to be a part of India's 2019 ODI World Cup squad, the selectors made a decision that surprised most of the Indian cricket followers. Rayudu was not selected for the quadrennial competition leaving Team India's batting line-up vulnerable.
Vijay Shankar, Dinesh Karthik and Rishabh Pant were preferred over Rayudu in the 2019 World Cup. As it turned out, Rayudu's omission did make a difference. When India needed an experienced campaigner to steady the ship in the semi-final against New Zealand, the team missed Rayudu's services.
Rayudu never played for the Men in Blue after being left out of the 2019 ODI World Cup squad. He ended his Team India career with 55 ODI caps, scoring 1,694 runs at an average of 47.05 with the help of 10 half-centuries and three tons.
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