Not MSK Prasad! Virat Kohli blocked Ambati Rayudu’s WC selection, exposes Robin Uthappa

Former Indian cricketer Robin Uthappa seems to be on a mission to tarnish Virat Kohli’s image and whatever he had done as the Indian cricket team captain with his shocking statements. Recently, Uthappa slammed Kohli for not supporting Yuvraj Singh, accusing him of the legendary all-rounder’s axing from the Indian cricket team.

Now, the former Indian batter has yet again launched a scathing attack on Kohli's leadership style. In a bold statement, Robin Uthappa claimed that former Indian captain Virat Kohli's personal preferences often influenced team decisions and left many players heartbroken, like Yuvraj Singh and Ambati Rayudu.

Robin Uthappa slams Virat Kohli for unfairly axing Ambati Rayudu from 2019 World Cup squad

Uthappa has recently shed light on one of the most controversial omissions of Ambati Rayudu, who was surprisingly left out of the Indian cricket team for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019. He claimed that Virat Kohli had a big role behind Rayudu's snub for the ODI World Cup 2019, thanks to his personal preferences.

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Uthappa revealed that Ambati Rayudu had already received his ODI World Cup kit and was preparing for the tournament, but Virat Kohli’s liking and disliking approach forced the selectors to shut the door on his dreams.

At the last minute, Rayudu was not picked for the 2019 World Cup, and he wasn’t called up even when Shikhar Dhawan and Vijay Shankar got injured during the tournament.

Robin Uthappa felt that the Indian cricket team’s decision not to pick Rayudu despite sending his kit was unfair and hurtful to Rayudu. He also noted that this move was unfair, as it crushed Rayudu's dreams and hurt the batter.

If Virat Kohli didn't like anyone, then they were cut: Robin Uthappa

However, Uthappa admitted that every leader has their preferences, but he emphasized that it is very important to maintain a balance between personal biases or personal opinions and what's best for the team. He was very critical about the impact of Kohli’s captaincy on the players' careers.

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Robin Uthappa said on Lallantop: “If he (Virat Kohli) didn't like anyone, he didn't feel someone was good, then they were cut. (Ambati) Rayudu is the 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, 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.”

Ambati Rayudu blamed MSK Prasad for his 2019 World Cup snub

Notably, Ambati Rayudu had revealed that he was not in good standing with the former Indian chief selector MSK Prasad, and that affected his career following the 2019 World Cup controversy. Later, Prasad refused to take the blame for Rayudu’s dropping by saying that the selection committee made decisions together, including the captain, not just him.

Rayudu retired from all forms of the game in May 2023 after representing India in just 61 international matches. However, the former right-handed batter had a great IPL career, winning six titles with Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Mumbai Indians (MI).

The Andhra Pradesh cricketer played 204 IPL matches and finished his career with 4348 runs with the highest score of an unbeaten 100 at an average of 28 and a strike rate of 127.54.