The Indian Cricket Team’s hopes of winning the 2019 World Cup were dashed as they lost to New Zealand in a 2-day match at Old Trafford, Manchester. Rayudu was set to be the number 4 batter in the tournament, but he was not picked in the final squad. As per chief selector, MSK Prasad all-rounder Vijay Shankar was selected due to 3D skills.
“That team management thought that just because I’m calm quiet and always to myself. They thought maybe I was not too confident. That’s some stupid logic these guys come up with sometimes. How can you judge someone’s confidence by looking at them,” Rayudu said on The Ranveer Show on YouTube.
The head coach Ravi Shastri, and team management had problems at the number 4 spot in the tournament that was exposed during the semi-finals against New Zealand where India struggled with their batting. Despite MS Dhoni’s and Ravindra Jadeja’s efforts, the Indian team could not qualify for the finals losing the match by 18 runs. Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, and Virat Kohli fell in quick succession on the second evening.
Ambati Rayudu’s performance prior to the 2019 World Cup
Ambati Rayudu had a great outing prior to the 2019 World Cup played in England and Wales. He made 639 runs from 20 innings since 2018 and almost settled the debate of the number 4 batter for the tournament.
Rayudu also scored a century in the final One-day international series before the World Cup 2019 before the World Cup squad was named. India performed brilliantly finishing top of the points table.
Ambati Rayudu had a great outing but due to lack of clarity, the Indian team struggled with the number 4 spot in the semi-finals. He played a total of 55 ODI matches (50 innings) and scored 1694 runs including the best score of 124 not out. During his career, Rayudu smashed 3 centuries and 10 half-centuries to his name. He featured in the last ODI match against Australia on 8th March 2019. During his final match, Rayudu hit just 2 runs.
Rayudu played a key role for India but was not part of the tournament. Rohit Sharma scored 5 centuries during the 2019 WC as the Indian batting failed in the semi-finals against the Kiwis.
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