Former India cricketer Ambati Rayudu has spoken out about his surprising omission from the 2019 ODI World Cup squad and addressed comments made by his ex-teammate Robin Uthappa regarding Virat Kohli's influence on team selections.
Rayudu acknowledged that Kohli, as captain, had strong preferences. However, he emphasized that Kohli consistently backed him and provided him with numerous opportunities throughout his career.
Uthappa had previously suggested that Kohli's personal preferences played a role in Rayudu's exclusion from the World Cup squad.
"If he (Virat Kohli) didn't like anyone, he didn't feel someone was good, then they were cut. (Ambati) Rayudu is the prime example. You feel bad. Everybody has preferences, I agree, but you cannot close the door on a player after taking him to the cusp. He had World Cup clothes and a World Cup kit bag; everything was there at his home. A player would be thinking that he is going to the World Cup. But you shut the door on him. That wasn't fair according to me," Uthappa said as quoted to Lallantop.
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Kohli was the one who backed me: Ambati RayuduÂ
Rayudu, while admitting that Kohli's leadership had its shortcomings, clarified that the decision to leave him out of the squad was a collective one, not driven by any personal vendetta from the captain. He stated that the then-India captain understood his struggle and supported him in his comeback.
"What Uthappa was trying to say is that Kohli has strong likes and dislikes. But in my case, Kohli was the one who backed me. He liked me. When I was there at his captaincy, we played many games for India. He was the one who brought me into the team. He understands the struggle because he as well is from a humble background and has played tremendous cricket. It is never easy to excel as a batter coming from Delhi. To be a world-beater, especially in white-ball cricket, it's not easy. So he has seen everything," Rayudu said.
Rayudu was a regular in India’s line-up leading up to the 2019 World Cup. He made a comeback in the national side on the basis of his splendid run with the bat in the 2018 season of the Indian Premier League (IPL). During his return, he also smashed a hundred against the West Indies and played a 90-run knock versus New Zealand.
However, the right-handed batter lost his form months before the World Cup and India picked Vijay Shankar over him. In July 2019, Rayudu announced his retirement from all forms of international cricket after being disappointed due to the World Cup snub.
"His leadership sometimes was found wanting, which everyone knows. What Uthappa mentioned was that during his captaincy, he made mistakes. It's not about preferences, but it's about logic, which may be at that point in time was not the right thing to do. I won't say Kohli or Ravi Shastri or MSK (Prasad) did that, it was a collective decision. They thought something else would be better for their team. But I don't think it was personal," the cricketer-turned-commentator added.
India’s Performance in 2019 ODI World CupÂ
India topped the points table in the league stage of the 2019 ODI World Cup. They only lost to England before the semis.Â
While they were expected to reach the final, New Zealand pulled off an upset in the semi-final and defeated India by 18 runs in a rain-affected affair.Â
India’s batting unit crumbled in the knockout clash, failing to chase 240 runs in Manchester.
