5 cricketers whose biggest enemies turned out be their own cricket boards

4. Ambati Rayudu

With all due respect to England, it is fair to say that India is the home of modern-day cricket. Not only are they taking the game to global heights, but they are also shaping up some of the finest talents of the game. Especially in the last two decades, the Blue team has been home to several batting prodigies. One of them has to be the Hyderabad cricketer, Ambati Rayudu. The right-hander caught the eyes of the entire cricketing fraternity even before he turned 19.

Very early in his career, Rayudu created a buzz with his strokeplay and consistency. His versatility in his craft looked a cut above his counterparts. That’s why when he eventually made his way to the senior team in 2013, a lot of cricket enthusiasts wanted him to flourish as he did in his teenage days.

Though it hasn’t turned out to be a complete fairytale, he has made his presence felt in his 60 odd international outings. Mainly in ODIs, where he became a trusted sepoy of India’s middle-order and got reasonable success.

However, deep inside, Rayudu and every Indian cricket fan know that he hasn’t done justice to his talent. His erratic temperament might have played its part in it, but the main culprit has to be the BCCI as they never treated him fairly throughout his career. At first, the board banned him for his ICL stint, and it seemed the end of his cricketing dreams.

Luckily he did make a return, but by then, the selectors started overlooking him. And when he finally looked set for a long run in the national set-up, the team management messed it up. Then the killer blow came in the form of exclusion from the 2019 World Cup squad which forced him to announce his retirement at the age of 34. At last, one can easily say that the BCCI proved to be the biggest obstacle in Rayudu’s career.