Former Indian cricketer Robin Uthappa sparked debate in January 2025 by discussing Virat Kohli’s decisions as India’s captain. Uthappa highlighted the controversial exclusion of Ambati Rayudu from the 2019 World Cup team, suggesting Kohli’s personal preferences played a role. Now, Ambati Rayudu has responded to Uthappa’s remarks, offering his perspective on the situation and Kohli’s leadership.
Uthappa indicated that Rayudu’s exclusion from the expected World Cup squad was due to preferences, as Vijay Shankar was chosen for his “three-dimensional” qualities. Uthappa recounted that Rayudu had all the necessary World Cup gear, anticipating his participation, only to be dropped, which Uthappa considered unfair.
Rayudu has now addressed this matter, stating that while Uthappa suggested Kohli has strong likes and dislikes, Kohli actually supported Rayudu. Rayudu emphasized that Kohli was instrumental in bringing him into the Indian team and that he played numerous matches under Kohli’s captaincy. Rayudu believes Kohli understood his struggles due to their similar backgrounds and acknowledged Kohli’s exceptional cricketing career.
However, Rayudu also suggested that there were instances where Kohli’s leadership was not ideal. He agreed with Uthappa that Kohli made mistakes as captain, emphasizing that these were not necessarily due to personal preferences but sometimes lacked logical reasoning.
Despite this, Rayudu dismissed the idea that his World Cup exclusion was personally motivated by Kohli. He believes it was a collective decision involving Ravi Shastri and MSK Prasad, based on what they thought was best for the team, rather than a personal bias against him.
