When India’s team for the tour of Australia was announced, everyone was admiring selectors’ bold decisions. Many young players like Barinder Sran, Hardik Pandya, Rishi Dhawan were selected that brought some fresh air into the team. It’s hard to think of a selection like this in the recent times that saw many fresh faces. It has been a routine for the Indian selectors recently to try young players only on low-key tours like Bangladesh and Zimbabwe. But when we glance through the team for the tour down under, A notable exclusion could be seen - Ambati Rayudu.
During the under-19 days, he was considered as the next big thing of Indian cricket. The player from Guntur is a free flowing stroke maker and can play big shots whenever the team needs. He performed incredibly well in whatever opportunity that came his way.
Thanks to his misfortunes, his place in the team was not sealed. He was only considered as a second-choice to any injured batsman or in the latest scenario Ajinkya Rahane. Both Rahane and Rayudu were playing musical chairs to stamp a place in the Indian middle order. Unfortunately, both of them failed to do so till date.
Ambati Rayudu’s career stats read an impressive 952 runs from 28 innings at an average just above 45, striking close to 80. This figure doesn’t make anyone's head down, These are really astonishing numbers given for a player who was not given any long rope and had to bat in tricky situations.
He always gave his hundred percent whenever he is on the field. In addition to his batting, he also added value to the team as a tremendous fielder. In the initial overs, he fields at the inner circle while in the final overs he turns out as Dhoni’s trusted boundary rider.
Possible reasons for Ambati Rayudu’s drop
One of the things with Ambati Rayudu is that he takes a little extra time to get going. He is extremely vulnerable at that point of time. When a wicket falls and he comes to bat, he doesn't give that surety or promise. The bowler could easily utilize this opportunity to scalp his wicket that could worsen the situation for India.
Another notable reason could be the current form of Rayudu. Selectors have stressed on the domestic form as a standard for this selection. It is a sad fact that Rayudu didn’t perform for his state team.
His recent scores in the Vijay Hazare trophy read 31,3,40,1 and 14. Making the situation worse was his poor run in the Ranji trophy too. This is not the kind of scores that you expect from a leading player like him.
Having said all, it is really unfair on Rayudu to get dropped from the squad. He could have been given one more chance to showcase his true potential. His career already faced a lot of ups and downs, affected mainly by his decision to join rebel ICL. But he came back strong after that setback.
This just looks like a gloomy winter, hopefully spring is down the corner for Ambati Rayudu.
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