Ambati Rayudu pleased with healthy competition in Indian team

Indian batsman Ambati Rayudu recently made a comeback to domestic cricket when he took the field for Vidarbha in the Vijay Hazare Trophy 2017. He started off on a good note with a fifty, albeit in a losing cause. The last time the international fans had seen the veteran Indian domestic star in action was during a warm-up fixture against England side in January.

The match was, incidentally, MS Dhoni’s last match as captain of the Indian colors. Ambati Rayudu had smashed an unbeaten ton in that fixture as well for the India A. Prior to that, the right handed batsman had to miss out the entire season of Ranji Trophy. Things started turning grey for him soon after the IPL last year. He was named in the Indian team for the Zimbabwe tour. However, he was ruled out of the tour due to a quadriceps muscle pull. Now, he has recovered fully and is eyeing a national comeback.

As per the quotes in Indian Express, Rayudu noted that the stiff competition to get into the national side is a good thing. He also reflected back at the warm up fixture where he had scored an unbeaten ton. He said that he had the added responsibility to do well then since it was Dhoni’s last game as captain. He was pleased to be a part of it. Talking about his time out of the action, he called it to be frustrating. Rayudu rightly cited that he only sees himself as his competition.

“It was Dhoni bhai’s last game as captain and also it was a big challenge for me to come back and play against an international side. I’m happy that I was able to bring my game to that standard and the way I was able to connect the ball that boosted my confidence. Also, I was delighted to be a part of his (Dhoni) last match, however the result was not what we had desired,” quoted Ambati Rayudu.

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“It is always frustrating to be out of the game, but I personally don’t look at competition. I think the only competitor for me is myself. I really don’t care who is there in the team or whether I’m picked or not because it’s not in my hand. My job is to perform,” he added.

Explaining his point a little more, he elaborated that even if he does not get the national call up but manages to up his game as per his expectations, he will be pleased with that.

“As long as I’m getting into the standards which I want to see myself, to score runs, to be consistent till then I really don’t mind if I’m not called to play for India. There is healthy competition to get into the Indian squad as everyone is performing tremendously well,” Rayudu added further.

The experienced player also voiced that it is unfair to compare the domestic and the international fixtures. He expressed his disappointment at the sad state of wickets in domestic cricket. He noted that it is the India A tours that make the players ready for international cricket.

“They are a different ball game, domestic cricket is a good launching platform for India A while it is necessary to go on A tours and perform and that’s where you can find real good cricketers for Indian cricket. Unfortunately the wickets in domestic cricket are in sad state,” conceded Rayudu.