Just a couple of months away from the World Cup, Ambati Rayudu is giving the Indian team-management a lot to worry about. He had returned to the ODI team last year during the Asia Cup after a two-year absence and impressed straightaway. But while Rayudu has showed promise, his inconsistency has not helped his cause. He has been awfully out of form in the ongoing series against Australia which is India’s last assignment before the World Cup.
Rayudu has managed to score only one half-century in the last ten ODI innings, which included two ducks. In the first two ODIs, he had managed to score just 13 and 18 but did even worse in the ongoing third ODI in Ranchi. The right-handed batsman was batting on 2 off seven before Pat Cummins castled him with a stunning delivery which was almost unplayable. The ball completely opened him up before going on to rattle the stumps.
Rayudu’s dismissal, nonetheless, has put India in a spot of bother as they were reeling at 27 for 3 while chasing 313. Opening batsmen Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma had already returned to the pavilion before Rayudu joined them.
Here is a clip showing Cummins castling Ambati Rayudu:
https://twitter.com/shaktikapoor143/status/1104001645518770176?s=19&fbclid=IwAR2sGP4aOdX3FqkBbKTqYEPuvJPM-7QkuhI1XeeQhcGOCPPlPhI1I8ganDE
Meanwhile, India skipper Virat Kohli has already said that he would have no problem in batting at number four if the team needs him to do so.
“I’ve batted a lot of times at number four. I don’t necessarily try it out as I’ve done that a lot in the past. My game doesn’t change much from number three to four because the template is quite similar. In any given situation I try to play the game I know,” Kohli had told reporters before the first ODI.
Well, the way Rayudu is performing at the moment, he can very well found himself out of the team in the coming days.