The ouster of Ambati Rayudu from the ICC World Cup 2019 squad had raised many eyebrows. A batsman who had established himself so well for the number four slot was dropped after a poor show during the New Zealand tour and instead, newcomer Vijay Shankar was provided with the opportunity to bat at 4.

The Gamble didn’t pay off as the Indian team decided to stick to KL Rahul as their number four batsman followed by Rishabh Pant took his place in the XI when KL Rahul was pushed up to after Dhawan was injured.

Former chief selector Devang Gandhi has opened on the difficulties they faced while picking the teams prior to the 2019 World Cup. Gandhi accorded totally that the exclusion of star batsman Rayudu from the 2019 World Cup team was improper. The immediate debate regarding India’s number four batsman was silenced when we witnessed Vijay Shankar take the Hyderabad latter’s place in the squad.

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‘Exclusion Of Ambati Rayudu Was A Mistake’ – Devang Gandhi

The former selector accepted that it was indeed a mistake to not pick Ambati Rayudu for the coveted tournament as his inclusion could’ve solved the middle-order woes for team India at the biggest cricketing sporting event in England. Gandhi further added that all because India had one unsatisfactory session against New Zealand in the semi-final, it ignited the number four debate between Indian fans.

“Yes, that was a mistake, but then we are humans too. At that time we seemed to have hit the right combination, but later we realised Rayudu’s presence might have helped. Actually, India had one bad day in office during the World Cup, and that’s why Rayudu’s absence became such a big talking point.”

“Apart from that one match, India had an excellent tournament. I can understand Rayudu’s angst and his reactions were justified,” stated Gandhi as quoted by The Times of India.”

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