The Indian middle order batsman Ambati Rayudu has thanked Sachin Tendulkar for helping him during the period when he was struggling to make his way into international cricket.
Rayudu has recently made his debut for India in the first ODI match against Zimbabwe and he had a great outing in his debut match. He came to the wicket at a difficult time. The ball was moving around and India was in a bit of trouble after losing two early wickets, but, he showed amazing calmness and put up a great partnership with the skipper Virat Kohli to set up India’s win.
Rayudu had burst onto the scene way back in 2004 as a 19 years old cricketer. He was rated very highly by the pundits at that time and it was believed that he would play for India pretty soon. But, that didn’t happen. Rayudu got involved in a number of controversies after that and didn’t manage to make it to the Indian team.
Rayudu’s biggest mistake was that he decided to join the controversial Indian Cricket League (ICL) in August 2007. Because of that, BCCI suspended him and he was dropped from his state Ranji team.
However, Rayudu declined his contract with ICL in 2009 and after that he was allowed to return to domestic cricket.
With some consistent performances in domestic circuit and IPL, Rayudu managed to draw the attention of selectors towards him and got picked for the Zimbabwe tour. He now tops the betting online as the man who will take the most wickets.
Talking to the reporters after scoring a half century in his very first ODI match, Rayudu said, “It feels wonderful really. I have waited for so long for this day. It’s an emotional moment for me. I would like to thank Sachin Tendulkar for being a great help to me during my time at Mumbai Indians.”