Ambati Rayudu Should Have Gone To England As Replacement, Says Mohammad Azharuddin

Ambati Rayudu‘s non-inclusion in the ICC World Cup 2019 squad created a lot of stir in the country, and many held the selection committee responsible for the former’s retirement from cricket. Recently while naming India’s squad for the series against West Indies, chairman of selectors MSK Prasad has offered his explanation for not picking Rayudu even as a replacement. However, former India skipper Mohammad Azharuddin differed with the clarification saying that Rayudu should have gone to England.

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I don’t agree with MSK Prasad: Azharuddin

The Men in Blues needed two replacements during the World Cup, and selectors overlooked Ambati Rayudu in both the occasions despite being in the five-member standby list. The speculations reached an all-time high when the selection panel picked Mayank Agarwal over Rayudu as a replacement for Vijay Shankar. Soon after that, the veteran batsman announced his retirement from international cricket. MSK Prasad, while offering the rationals behind Rayudu’s non-inclusion, said that the management requested an opener in place of Shankar; hence, Mayank got a nod ahead of Rayudu.

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However, Mohammad Azharuddin has denied the clarification given the chairman of the selectors. He said that Ambati Rayudu should have gone to England and the selectors have the right to overrule captain or coach’s decision. He also cited incidents from his tenure as a skipper to back his comments.

“When a person is standing by, I feel the standby person should be picked, if any replacement is needed,” Azharuddin said.

“If you are a selector, you can overrule captain and coach. You can put your foot down and say, ‘no, we will send this player’. When I was captain, I also wanted some players but the selectors said no. It happens. You are not selected, it is very sad. It happened like that. But, his (Prasad’s) explanation, I don’t agree with it,” he added.

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The team management had backed Ambati Rayudu to be the no four batsman much before the World Cup. But his poor form before the World Cup saw him lose his spot to Vijay Shankar, who can contribute to all the departments.

Meanwhile, Mohammad Azharuddin will contest for the post of president of Hyderabad Cricket Association (HCA) in the upcoming elections.

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