Hughes was the nicest Aussie I knew: Rayudu

MUMBAI: India batsman Ambati Rayudu and Australian Phil Hughes, whose death last week shocked the sporting world, had quite a few things in common. Both showed great promise from the time they began playing grade cricket.
Hughes and Rayudu spent a lot of time in their respective 'A' team, and both had to work harder than most to retain their places in the national team. Therefore, Hughes' untimely death has left Rayudu saddened .
"His death is extremely tragic. Over the past few years, we spent a lot of time speaking to each other about our careers. Both of us struggled to make it to our national teams. In fact, we had become good friends," Rayudu said on Tuesday.
In the recent past, Rayudu, 29, toured Australia a couple of times with India A ' and also shared the dressing room with Hughes for Mumbai Indians in 2013.
"He was always smiling and was a tough competitor. He was very friendly and you can say he was the nicest Australian I knew," he added.