Ambati Rayudu made headlines with his controversial exit from all forms of cricket in July 2019, after India announced it’s 15-men squad for 2019 ICC World Cup, including Vijay Shankar in place of Rayudu. The controversy got even complicated when, Vijay Shankar got injured, Mayank Agarwal was called to fill in the void, which eventually hurt Rayudu’s sentiment.
Following the incident, a disheartened Rayudu decided to end his career in Cricket for the betterment. However, at the end of August, Ambati Rayudu cleared the air around his retirement plans, stating his decision to retire was an ‘emotional one’. After the statement, “Of course, who will say no to India?”, Rayudu was happily welcomed by Hyderabad Cricket Association.
On Saturday, Hyderabad Cricket Association announced the team for the upcoming Vijay Hazare Trophy and also declared the team will be led by, none other than Ambati Rayudu. All the persuasion that played part in Rayudu, to come out of his retirement plans could be a result of the influence provided by Noel David, chief selector at the Hyderabad Cricket Association (HCA), and VVS Laxman.
Rayudu had previously mentioned in his letter to HCA, the motivation offered by David and Laxman, and Indian Premier League franchise Chennai Super League for his change of mind after a radical decision. B. Sandeep will be the on-field vice-captain supporting Rayudu. Others include, Mohammed Siraj, Thakur Varma, Rohit Rayudu, Mehdi Hasan, Saket Sai Ram and few more.
Hyderabad will be playing opposite Goa, Andhra Pradesh, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Saurashtra, Mumbai and Kerala in the league stage, and all matches will be played in Bangalore. Hyderabad will be facing firstly, Karnataka staring the season on September 24. Rayudu is hopeful on getting back to the national side with focusing on his game and slowly rising with his talents.
