Cricket is a game in India which is worshipped and celebrated by billions, while many dreams makes it to the final grounds and some becomes wasted talents. Many people dream on making it big, opting a career in the game, whereas only few makes the final cut to represent the nation and live their dreams.
Ambati Rayudu was one such man, who had several ups and downs throughout his cricketing career, where on one side his batting skills were pointing towards a promising career, while on the other, he became the ultimate ‘wild child’ of cricket. Since his debut, he has been considered a young prodigy, and he has proven his worth, time and again in domestic, national and international tournaments. However, his charismatic career hit a snub, when his behavior became a concerning point raising several controversies on and off the field.
From the ‘rebel’ Indian Cricket League (ICL) to the Indian Premier League (IPL), an enraged Rayudu on many occasions, was not a pleasant scenario to watch, though his performance proved otherwise, but his dreams of qualifying for the limited over ODI formats, especially the ICC World Cup, were left stranded as after several upsets he declared his retirement from every form of the game including IPL. The short intriguing time he spent serving our nation, he has more than managed to earned himself the respect of several countrymen, with the 1694 runs he scored in the 50 ODI’s and sporting a top score of 124*. Playing for Baroda, Hyderabad, Andhra, Vidarbha Rayudu’s approach was appreciated by his peers, Robin Uthhappa, Dinesh Karthik, all of whom had strongly believed Rayudu to create a legacy. While, playing for Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings in the IPL he had scored 3300 runs in 147 matches and contributed whenever the team needed him to act.
His last hopes of achieving his only unfulfilled goal was securing a place at the 15-men squad of 2019 ICC World Cup. At the peak of his form, but failing the yo-yo test made his chances look bleak, and thus Vijay Shankar was opted in his place. Hoping against hope, Ambati Rayudu could have replaced the injured players Shikhar Dhawan or Vijay Shankar but selectors shied away and chose Rishab Pant and Mayank Agarwal instead. With controversies and upsets, the rebel and the dreamer didn’t get the chance to fulfill his dream when he finally bids adieu to the game and his career as a cricketer but he still remains a dynamic talent and an exceptional sportsman, maybe short of his dream, but never short of his dedication to Cricket itself.
