Not thinking of World Cup: Ambati Rayudu
has been a roller-coaster ride for Ambati Rayudu this year. He finished with 600-plus runs in the IPL and then missed the bus for the England tour for failing the yo-yo test in June. He made it back to the India A team in the quadrangular series involving South Africa A and Australia A ending with 187 runs in four matches. He was picked for the Asia Cup, scored two half-centuries, and now has been chosen in for the No. 4 spot which has seen a musical chair of sorts of late.
“I think even before the IPL, it’s not that I was not in contention. It’s just that I had few injuries and the IPL was good platform to come back strong,” said the 33-year-old Rayudu, whose tally of 602 runs was the most for champions CSK.
With 17 ODIs remaining for the 2019 World Cup, any selection in the national team points to a potential place in the squad. But Rayudu is not looking that far ahead. “I am just focused on this series. It is not a new role as I have been batting in the middle order. There is nothing new that they have asked me to do,” said Rayudu, who made a comeback in the Asia Cup after two years.
Rayudu was cautious about the West Indies series. “It’s just one game. I think they bowled well. It’s just that Virat (Kohli) and Rohit (Sharma) batted brilliantly. I think they will pose a good challenge,” he said.
VISAKHAPATNAM:It