Ambati Rayudu bid farewell to his IPL career on a high note, completing a remarkable fairytale by clinching his sixth title and the third for the Chennai Super Kings. Despite being considered a diligent contributor to Indian cricket, Rayudu’s international career fell short of expectations.
Despite participating in 55 ODIs and six T20Is for India, Rayudu struggled to secure a permanent spot in the Playing XI. His most notable and discussed stint with the Indian team occurred during the lead-up to the 2019 World Cup, where he emerged as a potential No. 4 batsman.
Between September 2018 and March 2019, Rayudu became the solution to India’s No. 4 conundrum. Following an impressive IPL 2018 season, where he excelled with 602 runs in T20 matches, Rayudu delivered decent performances in the following six months, scoring 639 runs in 21 ODIs, including a century and four fifties.
Although these numbers were respectable, when the squad for the World Cup in England was announced, Rayudu’s name was unexpectedly absent. Instead, KL Rahul was chosen as the No. 4 batsman, and all-rounder Vijay Shankar was brought in based on his IPL performances that year—an experiment that unraveled as the tournament progressed.
Four years later, as Rayudu concluded his illustrious career, renowned Indian bowling legend Anil Kumble expressed his belief that excluding Rayudu from the flight to England was a grave mistake. The former Indian coach deemed it a significant oversight on the part of then-captain Virat Kohli and coach Ravi Shastri to remove Rayudu from the squad at the last minute, especially after grooming him for that particular role over six months.
“Rayudu should have played the 2019 World Cup. Undoubtedly, it was a monumental blunder. You invested so much time in preparing him for that position, only to see his name vanish from the squad. It was undeniably surprising,” Kumble stated on Jio Cinema when the IPL 2023 final was interrupted by rain following the Gujarat Titans innings.
The decision to exclude Rayudu had far-reaching consequences. Clearly disgruntled with the selection, Rayudu posted a controversial tweet, saying, “Just ordered a new set of 3D glasses to watch the World Cup,” alluding to former chief selector MSK Prasad’s comment that Vijay Shankar was a “3D player.”
Rayudu even briefly announced his retirement in the midst of India’s World Cup campaign before retracting it. Unfortunately, Rayudu never had the opportunity to represent India again, leaving behind one of the most enigmatic conclusions to an international career.