"He was selected with the hope that he will be the next Sachin Tendulkar" - Aakash Chopra recalls Ambati Rayudu's 1st India A tour
Aakash Chopra has recalled his first meeting with Ambati Rayudu when the child prodigy was selected for India A's 2003 tour to the West Indies.
Rayudu recently announced his retirement from all forms of Indian cricket. The 37-year-old played 97 first-class matches, 55 ODIs and six T20Is but never got an opportunity to represent India in Test cricket.
In a video shared on his YouTube channel, Chopra reminisced about how Rayudu was chosen for India A's trip to the West Indies as a future superstar, elaborating:
"Let me share a little anecdote about my first meeting with Ambati Rayudu. It was in 2003, it was India A's tour to the West Indies. A small kid named Ambati Rayudu was picked there. He would have probably been 16 years old at that time."
"He was selected with the hope that he will be the next Sachin Tendulkar, that the boy is extremely talented. He is like the prodigy, that he could bat, fields extremely well and could bowl too."
The former Indian opener pointed out that the coach Ashok Malhotra was asked to take special care of the talented youngster, observing:
"Ashok Malhotra was our coach there and there were special directions to him from the selectors to take care of the kid because he is India's future. VVS Laxman was the captain on the tour and he had seen the kid playing in Hyderabad. So he was impressed but when you are making the team you need to take all things into account."
Rayudu aggregated 289 runs at an average of 26.27 in the six matches he played on that tour. He scored two half-centuries, with 84 being his top score.
"Our team didn't have a single off-spinner" - Aakash Chopra on Ambati Rayudu being used as a bowler
Aakash Chopra highlighted that the India A team had a star-studded batting lineup but lacked an off-spinner, recalling:
"Our team didn't have a single off-spinner. It was an extremely interesting team selection. We had Murali Kartik as a left-arm spinner and Amit Mishra as a leg-spinner. In batting, we had Gautam Gambhir, Connor Williams, myself, VVS Laxman and Abhijit Kale. So Ambati Rayudu got a chance to play in such a team."
The cricketer-turned-commentator pointed out that the close-in fielders had a harrowing time whenever Ambati Rayudu was given the ball, explaining:
"The poor guy got to bat very low in the order and he was asked to bowl off-spin in between, which the poor guy was unable to do. He was sometimes pitching the ball on his own legs or the batters' legs, full tosses at other times, and wicket-taking balls in between."
"I remember the short-leg and midwicket fielders used to be slightly scared whenever Ambati came to bowl because the West Indies guys used to hit very hard. So you were scared because you were in the firing line. I used to be at short leg, so I used to ask him not to bowl short."
Rayudu picked up seven wickets at a decent average of 27.28 in the 51.3 overs he bowled on the tour. The right-handed batter picked up only 10 wickets in the 97 first-class matches he played but accounted for three dismissals in ODIs, with Alastair Cook, Tillakaratne Dilshan and Mustafizur Rahman being his victims.