03 July,2019 05:17 PM IST | | mid-day online desk
Gautam Gambhir
The man who top scored in two World Cup finals for India, Gautam Gambhir has blasted the MSK Prasad-led Indian selection committee for not being able to give Ambati Rayudu a fair chance, saying that the whole selection committee combined wouldn't have scored the kind of runs Rayudu has scored for India.
Ignored for the ongoing ICC World Cup Rayudu announced his retirement from all forms of the game without specifying his reasons for calling it quits in his email to the Board of Control for Cricket in India.
"According to me, the selectors have been a complete disappointment this World Cup. Rayudu's retirement decision is because of them and their decision-making skills are to be blamed for this," Star Sports expert Gambhir said on Cricket Live.
The 33-year-old was in the official standbys list for the big event in the UK but was ignored despite the injury-forced ouster of all-rounder Vijay Shankar.
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"Five selectors combined would not have made the runs Rayudu has in his career. I feel extremely sad about this retirement. Rishabh Pant and Mayank Agarwal got selected amidst the World Cup injuries, and anyone in Rayudu's place would have felt equally bad," said Gambhir, who is now a BJP MP.
He termed Rayudu's decision to retire as a sad moment for Indian cricket.
"A cricketer like him that has played so well in the IPL and for the nation, scored three 100's and ten 50's, and despite that if a player has to retire - it is a sad moment for Indian cricket," Gambhir added further.
Rayudu played 55 ODIs for India, scoring 1694 runs at an average of 47.05.
The player, who could never break into the Test team, was in the spotlight before the World Cup.
Declared the preferred No.4 batsman by captain Virat Kohli not many months ago, Rayudu was ignored as Vijay Shankar got the nod in India's final squad for the big event.
After the Indian World Cup squad was announced, Ambati Rayudu had taken a cheeky dig at the selection panel's statement saying that Vijay Shankar was a three-dimensional player, by saying that he would be watching the World Cup 2019, wearing 3-d glasses.
With inputs from PTI
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