Rayudu’s World Cup Snub Was a Colossal Blunder : Kumble

Anil Kumble has criticized the “huge blunder” that Ravi Shastri and Virat Kohli made regarding Ambati Rayudu in 2019. Rayudu, who had a fruitful IPL vocation, finished it on a high note by coming out on top for his 6th championship, the third for the Chennai Super Rulers.

Rayudu’s international career did not live up to expectations, although he was regarded as a valuable player in Indian cricket. He played for India in 55 ODIs and six T20Is, but he struggled to get a permanent spot in the team. However, in the months leading up to the World Cup in 2019, Rayudu emerged as an option for India’s No. 4 position for the bat.

Between September 2018 and March 2019, Rayudu put up strong numbers and emerged as India’s No. 1 choice. 4 problem. In the six months that followed Rayudu’s impressive IPL 2018 performance, in which he scored 602 runs, he played 21 one-day internationals and scored 639 runs, including one century and four fifties.

Despite these being respectable numbers, Rayudu was unexpectedly left out of the England World Cup squad. KL Rahul was selected by team management as the No. 4 batsman and incorporated all-rounder Vijay Shankar given his IPL exhibitions. However, as the tournament progressed, this decision proved to be a mistake.

Anil Kumble, the Indian team’s former coach, believes that leaving out Rayudu from the 2019 World Cup squad was a mistake after four years. Kumble said that captain Virat Kohli and coach Ravi Shastri made a big mistake by removing Rayudu from the team after six months of training him for that role. During the IPL 2023 final on Jio Cinema, which was postponed due to rain, Kumble voiced his opinion.

Rayudu’s exclusion had serious repercussions. Frustrated with the choice, Rayudu posted a disputable tweet that read, “Just arranged another arrangement of 3D glasses to watch the World Cup.” This tweet was in response to MSK Prasad’s comment that Vijay Shankar was a “3D player,” which was made by the former chief selector.

Rayudu even momentarily declared his retirement during the World Cup crusade however later withdrew it. Tragically, Rayudu at absolutely no point ever played for India in the future, checking one of the most mysterious endings to a global vocation.