New Delhi, July 3
Former India openers Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir on Wednesday commented on the shock retirement of middle-order batsman Ambati Rayudu.
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 BCCI.
Sehwag said the World Cup snub must have been painful for Rayudu.
Gambhir blasted the MSK Prasad-led senior selection panel saying the five selectors combined would not have made the runs Rayudu has scored in his career.
“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.“Must definitely be very painful at being ignored for the World Cup for #AmbatiRayudu but I wish him all the very best in life after retirement,” Sehwag said on his Twitter post.
The 33-year-old Rayudu was in India’s official standbys list for the big event in the UK but was ignored despite the injury-forced ouster of all-rounder Vijay Shankar.
Mayank Agrawal was brought in on the team management’s insistence and it is learnt, Rayudu was left quite disappointed by the turn of events.
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, but was ignored at Shankar’s expense in India’s final squad.
