India vs Zimbabwe: Ambati Rayudu – first pick in the second-choice team

“Unfortunately, everyone couldn’t get a chance but I am happy with the way I am batting,” he said almost like he was sorry about not letting the others have a go at the Zimbabwe bowling. It was ironic that the man who made him wait his turn to face the media was Makhaya Ntini, the make-shift Zimbabwe coach, who not only defended his earlier comments about sweeping the opposition under the carpet but also spoke about having wanted to hang himself off a tree following his team’s dramatic collapse before taking his own sweet time to relinquish his seat. Cricketers can come across in different ways, and not often akin to their personalities on the field, while attending press conferences. Rayudu, who otherwise comes across as a fierce competitor on the field—fierce enough to angrily rush towards his teammate Harbhajan Singh after the off-spinner had overtly expressed his angst towards a misfield during the IPL—answers queries like an introvert kid who’s been forced to address the school assembly.

Probably it’s his disarming off-field characteristics that have resulted in him slipping under the radar despite averaging over 50 in his ODI career so far. To the extent that few took note of the fact that he became the third fastest Indian batsman to reach 1,000 runs in 50-over cricket during the first ODI on Saturday. This is Rayudu’s third straight trip to Zimbabwe. You can look at it in different ways. As a local journalist noted, that he’s been on every trip that India has made it to this country in the last few years is a sign of where his cricket career stands right now. And yes he does average 123 against them in 8 matches. Or you can look at him as the first-pick in the second-choice team. Incidentally, there was a local sitting on the grassbanks donning a Rayudu jersey.

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The target itself was a measly one. Zimbabwe had succumbed for the second straight match to the Indian bowlers, though on a pitch that didn’t have as much assistance for them as Saturday, with no trace of a fight. But with his 41 not out at Harare, Rayudu took his average in successful run-chases for India to an astronomical 167.66. Not quite Kohliesque, still startling enough though. That he averages over 50 against England and Sri Lanka is a sign that he’s not quite the minnow-bully as some might make him out to be.

You ask him about why he hasn’t quite attracted the attention of the masses despite his seemingly impressive returns in ODI cricket and his response is typically subdued.

“My ODI career, I am really happy with the way it has gone. Given the guys that we have in the team, somebody has to do the role that I am doing. So it is important for me to stay focussed and take my opportunities when they come,” he said.

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So far this series, Rayudu has looked at home in the No.3 position, adjusting expertly to the early movement that the Zimbabwe bowlers to their credit have generated, and also putting the bad ball away with disdain, which has always been his strength. He doesn’t quite possess a repertoire of shots that come across as exquisite or attractive, but what he does do is pick runs off when they are on offer. And that’s where his effectiveness has really come through, and probably why the selectors keep going back to him. His batting is in many ways as unfussy as his manner of describing it.

“For me generally it’s just about getting my batting in shape. Most of the times, visualisation is the key I feel. Even when you’re out for a long period of time, travelling with the team, I try to keep myself motivated and focussed. I prepare myself before the game as though I am going to play it,” is what he has to say about how he’s managed to make the most of his opportunities. The way the series has gone so far, it’s unlikely Zimbabwe will come close to challenging the Indians’ quest for a series white-wash. But what remains for sure is that with the Rayudu’s been batting it’s unlikely that the middle-order will get much of a go, and yes he will come out sounding apologetic about it.