After clearing the yo-yo test, Ambati Rayudu made his long-awaited comeback into the Indian team for Asia Cup. Soon, he was also touted to be team India’s number 4 batsman for World Cup. Rayudu did not have a spectacular run during his comeback stint but was having a decent run.
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Suddenly, the selectors felt the need of change and they ignored Rayudu for World Cup, naming Vijay Shankar as designated number four batsman. What panned out later worked against Rayudu as he took a dig at selection committee in his tweet, that also marked the end of Rayudu’s international career.
During World Cup, team India needed two replacement players and there was no place for Rayudu, despite him being in the list of standby players for the tournament. He announced his retirement while the tournament was still on.
Looking at the proceedings, it was clear that BCCI was irked with Rayudu and did not want him in the team. While Rayudu hasn’t said anything about his retirement or his tweet, Indian legend Yuvraj Singh has spoken on the matter.
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He expressed his disappointment on the matter and said that he was sad when Rayudu announced his retirement.
“It was disappointing to watch what they did with Rayudu. He was in the contention for the World Cup. He got runs in New Zealand but after three or four bad innings, he got dropped,” he told The Times of India.
“I also feel quite sad about Rayudu that he retired. It is unfortunate how they dealt with the whole situation. You are looking to go and play the World Cup and suddenly you don’t find a place,” Yuvraj added.
On the road to World Cup, Rayudu got the backing of team management and the captain but few bad knocks in IPL saw him failing it to make it to the squad. The rest of the damage was done by his tweet, that was probably the reason behind him being ignored even as team India needed replacement players. Rayudu will not play any form of cricket now as he has also retired from IPL.
Talking of Yuvraj, he also announced his retirement from Indian cricket last month and will travel to Canada to be part of the second edition of Global T20 Canada. He is also expected to play few other T20 leagues around the world.