Former India batter Ambati Rayudu opened up about being excluded from the 2019 ODI World Cup squad, asserting that he was initially slated for the No. 4 position. He expressed dissatisfaction, claiming that the team management used what he referred to as 'stupid logic' to justify his exclusion. Despite being considered the team's preferred No. 4 batter leading up to the tournament, however, he was ultimately not selected for the final squad. MSK Prasad, the chief selector at that time, said that all-rounder Vijay Shankar secured a spot in the squad due to his "3D skills.”
His dissatisfaction was evident as he labelled the team management's reasoning as "stupid," conveying that they misunderstood his reserved demeanour as a lack of confidence. He felt that his composed nature was misconstrued and unjustly held against him during the selection process.
"That team management thought that just because I'm calm, quiet and always to myself, They thought maybe I was not too confident. That's some stupid logic these guys come up with sometimes. How can you judge someone's confidence by looking at them," Rayudu said on The Ranveer Show on YouTube.
He was considered the solution to India's problems at No. 4 leading up to the World Cup. He held the position for a long time, scoring 639 runs in 20 innings for India since 2018, with an average of 42.6 in ODIs. Former captain Virat Kohli praised Rayudu in a press conference. Rayudu even scored a century while batting at no.4 in India's last series before the World Cup squad was announced.
"Maybe yes (No. 4 spot was mine), that World Cup (2019) yes. I've said in many interviews, if not me there was Ajju (Ajinkya Rahane) there. Why didn't you take a proper number four like Shreyas in the recent World Cup? It was quite shocking. You're going in for a World Cup, not for some personal league tournament. During that phase, the management was not true to itself when it came to their decisions. However, under Rohit, he's been captaining brilliantly," Rayudu added.
The Hyderabad-born cricketer began his career, captaining the India Under-19 team and gaining recognition in domestic cricket at a young age. However, his path was overshadowed by controversies, notably a period with the rebel Indian Cricket League (ICL), resulting in a temporary ban from Indian domestic cricket. Following his acceptance of an amnesty offer from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), he reentered the domestic circuit and later made his international debut in 2013.
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