File photo of Ambati Rayudu and Virat Kohli© AFP
Former India star Robin Uthappa has attempted a fresh jab at current Team India star Virat Kohli, suggesting he cherry-picked players in the team during his captaincy reign on the basis of likes and dislikes. Uthappa, who has been making headlines of late with some bold comments, has claimed that Ambati Rayudu was left out of India’s 2019 ODI World Cup team as Kohli “didn’t like him”. Rayudu’s omission from the team came at the last minute, with all-rounder Vijay Shankar replacing him in India’s World Cup squad, leaving the entire Indian cricketing spectrum baffled.
Rayudu’s shock absence from India’s ODI World Cup squad had triggered a big controversy at that time, with the player himself also taking to social media to mock the selection committee’s decision.
While it was reported at that time that the then-selection committee chief MSK Prasad had the biggest role to play in Rayudu’s snub, Uthappa has now claimed that Kohli also had a role to play.
“If he (Virat Kohli) didn’t like anyone, he didn’t feel someone is good, then they were cut. (Ambati) Rayudu is the prime example. You feel bad. Everybody has preferences, I agree but you cannot close the door on a player after taking him to the cusp. He had World Cup clothes, World Cup kit bag, everything was there at his home. A player would be thinking that he is going to the World Cup. But you shut the door on him. That wasn’t fair according to me,” Uthappa revealed during an interview with Lallantop.
In an interview, MSK Prasad had claimed that other selectors and the team’s captain at that time (Kohli) also had a say in selecting the final roster for the ODI World Cup in 2019.
Earlier, Uthappa had also accused Virat of cutting short Yuvraj Singh‘s international career. Uthappa claimed that Kohli didn’t make selection a little easier for Yuvraj when he tried to cement his spot back in India’s ODI team after winning his battle against cancer.
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