During the India-New Zealand World Cup match, Gautam Gambhir publicly criticized the selection committee headed by MSK Prasad. The former opening batter termed it as the worst in the history of Indian cricket. Gambhir berated the selectors for the decision to exclude Ambati Rayudu. The decision was surprising especially when the number four position was a major concern for the Indian team. Gambhir further remarked that he couldn’t even recall the name of the chairman of the selection panel.
Ambati Rayudu, who had made his return to the team a year before the World Cup, appeared to be a definite choice for the major event. However, he was astonishingly overlooked, with the selectors opting for Vijay Shankar instead. Even more surprising was the fact that Rayudu wasn’t called back into the squad. When the team required two replacement players during the tournament. Feeling hurt by this rejection, Rayudu announced his retirement, but he later reversed his decision and resumed playing domestic cricket.
“It was the worst selection committee in Indian cricket’s history. The reason is that you drop a batsman like Ambati Rayudu, and don’t take him to the World Cup, even when the number four position was your biggest concern,” Gambhir said on the air.
Gautam Gambhir in commentary:
“ Management of 2019 was the worst. You played Ambati Rayudu throughout the year and dropped in World Cup without any reason.”#INDvsNZ #NZvIND #CWC23 pic.twitter.com/l1bWkkPzOZ— Shubham Shrivastav (@shubhshr28) October 22, 2023
India suffered a loss against New Zealand in ODI World Cup 2019
The two-time World Champions reached the semi-finals of the 2019 World Cup but faced a heart-pounding contest where they were defeated by New Zealand. India lacked a dependable number 4 batsman in the crucial knockout game. Rishabh Pant, who had only debuted in ODIs 9 months before the World Cup, occupied the number 4 spot in that match. He was dismissed after scoring 32 runs from 56 balls. In a challenging chase of 240, key batsmen Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, and Virat Kohli were all dismissed for just one run each, contributing to India’s total of 221 all out.
The match was finished on the reserve day because of rain in Manchester. In the controversial final, led by Kane Williamson, New Zealand faced a defeat against England. The home team was declared the winner based on having scored more boundaries after both the match and the super-over concluded with a tie.
