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Indian batter Robin Uthappa was part of India's preliminary 30-member squad for the 2015 World Cup. However, he failed to make it to the final roster for the ICC event.
Recalling the snub, Uthappa admitted that he was disappointed by the turn of events. The former cricketer also revealed that he restructured his batting in hopes of being picked in the national side for longer formats.
Speaking to Sportstar, he said (27:17):
"It was disappointing because my whole intent from 2012, once I started getting better as far as my mental health was concerned, was that I found my passion for the game again. For four or five years, I lost my passion and was playing the game for the wrong reasons."
"Once I found my passion back, I restructured my batting completely," Robin Uthappa continued. "It took me two or three years to do that. The pursuit was the Test cap and close any gap that would impede me in that pursuit. I became very consistent, but my aggressive flare went out because of my technique."
Robin Uthappa also spoke about going through a rough patch ahead of the 2015 World Cup. He also highlighted that while he did feature in the Indian team sparingly, he didn't get a consistent run.
He elaborated (29:03):
"When the 2015 World Cup came around, I had a lean patch after the 2014 IPL. I went to Australia with the India A side as a captain. I didn't perform at all. That pushed me back in the pecking order again. I again went back and scored a lot of runs in domestic cricket. I made comebacks, but those weren't long-drawn because I came back as a replacement."
Robin Uthappa played 46 ODIs and 13 T20Is for India and amassed 934 and 249 runs, respectively. He was part of the Men in Blue's T20 World Cup-winning team in 2007.
"Had a conversation with MS Dhoni about my chances" - Robin Uthappa on 2015 World Cup
Robin Uthappa revealed that he even discussed with former captain MS Dhoni about what more he could do to be able to find a place in the 2015 World Cup squad.
He revealed that Dhoni replied by saying that Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan were ahead in the pecking order when it came to opening batters.
Uthappa said (30:08):
"I had a conversation with MS Dhoni about my chances. I asked him, What would it take for me? He said I was performing and doing everything that I could. He told me that I needed to understand that I was pecked against Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan. He told me that the advantage that Shikhar had over me was that he was a left-hander."
MS Dhoni and company were unbeaten in Pool B of the 2015 World Cup. However, they suffered a heartbreaking 95-run loss to eventual champions Australia in the semi-final.
