New Delhi: Former India batter Robin Uthappa has made a sensational claim over the infamous exclusion of Ambati Rayudu from the 2019 ODI World Cup squad. Uthappa has lifted the lid on the unceremonious axing of Rayudu who was the favourite to take the designated No.4 position in India’s playing X1 for the marquee tournament in England and Wales five years ago. Rayudu was brutally excluded from the Indian squad despite playing 10 matches for the country in the run-up to the tournament.
Now five years later, Uthappa, has revealed that it was because of former India captain Virat Kohli, that Rayudu was excluded from the 2019 ODI World Cup squad. The 2007 T20 World Cup winner lifted the lid on the infamous incident during an interview with Lallontop.
Despite injuries to Shikhar Dhawan and Vijay Shankar mid-way through the tournament, Rayudu was ignored from selection. Kohli was the skipper of Team India during that period. Uthappa revealed that if Kohli did not like a player, he would be dropped from the team and Rayudu’s exclusion was a classic example.
Uthappa makes explosive claims
“If he (Virat Kohli) didn’t like anyone, he didn’t feel someone was good, then they were cut. (Ambati) Rayudu is a 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 told Lallantop during an interaction.
Robin Uthappa :- If Virat did not like someone, he would cut him off. Prime example Rayudu. He was sent world cup jersey and kit but suddenly he was dropped from the squad without any communication.
Yuvraj ,Karun Nair and Now rayudu , Virat played poltics with all of them 😔💔 pic.twitter.com/eSKfP3KEOs
— Vodka Triceps🇦🇺 (@Wasvodkatriceps) January 13, 2025
An unfulfilled career
Heartbroken by the unceremonious snub, Rayudu announced retirement from international cricket in a controversial fashion. Rayudu shared a ‘3D’ post refereeing to the three-dimensional player theory and blamed former chief selector MSK Prasad for his exclusion. Prasad would later clarify by saying that the committee comprised other selectors too, and even the captain had a say in the selection of the players.
Uthappa’s latest comments are likely to stir yet another controversy days after he blamed Kohli for Yuvraj Singh’s exclusion from the squad after his recovery from cancer.
Rayudu scored 1,694 runs in 55 ODIs and also featured in six T20Is across six years.
Ambati Rayudu has made explosive claims and has blamed Virat Kohli for infamous exclusion of Ambati Rayudu from the 2019 ODI World Cup squad. Cricket Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
