'Kohli was the one who backed me' - Ambati Rayudu on Robin Uthappa's 'If Kohli didn't like anyone, they were cut' remark

Ambati Rayudu was given quite a few opportunities in the middle-order ahead of India's ODI World Cup 2019 campaign and he fared reasonably well. However, the right-handed batter was surprisingly left out of the squad in favour of Vijay Shankar, who was picked for his all-round ability. Virat Kohli was the captain of the Indian team during that time.

Earlier this year, Robin Uthappa had spoken regarding the preferences of Virat Kohli. Now, Rayudu himself has responded to the comments made by the former India opener, and made his stance clear on the issue. He also shared his views on Kohli's leadership.

"If Virat Kohli didn't like anyone, he didn't feel someone was good, then they were cut. (Ambati) Rayudu is the prime example. You feel bad. Everybody has preferences, I agree, but you cannot close the door on a player after taking him to the cusp," Uthappa had said speaking to Lallantop.

"He had World Cup clothes and a World Cup kit bag; everything was there at his home. A player would be thinking that he is going to the World Cup. But you shut the door on him. That wasn't fair according to me," Uthappa had explained.

Rayudu, however, admitted that Kohli gave him a lot of opportunities during his tenure as captain. However, the former Hyderabad batter said that Kohli had his shortcomings as a leader.

"What Uthappa was trying to say is that Kohli has strong likes and dislikes. But in my case, Kohli was the one who backed me. He liked me. Under his captaincy, I played many games for India. He was the one who brought me into the team. He understands the struggle because he is also from a humble background. He has played tremendous cricket," Rayudu clarified, speaking on the Raw Talks podcast.

"His leadership sometimes was found wanting, which everyone knows. What Uthappa mentioned was that during his captaincy, he made mistakes. It's not about preferences, but it's about logic," he added.

I don't think it was personal: Ambati Rayudu

While Kohli was the captain, Ravi Shastri and MSK Prasad were the head coach and chief selector, respectively, during that period. Rayudu opined that the decision to leave him out and pick Shankar was taken collectively, hoping that it would benefit the team. The cricketer-turned-commentator feels that there was no vendetta behind his exclusion.

"I won't say Kohli or Ravi Shastri or MSK Prasad took the call. It was a collective decision. They thought something else would be better for their team. But I don't think it was personal," Rayudu said.

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The Guntur-born played 55 ODIs and scored 1,69 runs for India at an average of 47.06 and a strike rate of 79.05. He also played six T20Is for the Men in Blue, scoring 42 runs.