Twitter Reactions: Ambati Rayudu's form causes alarming situation ahead of the World Cup

In the midst of this, there seems to be brewing a new confusion to India’s final squad, concerning their middle order. Ambati Rayudu’s slot at No. 4 seems to be in jeopardy yet again. His form of late has been erratic at best, with his scores in the current series being 13, 18 and a meager 2 runs that he managed at Ranchi today before being castled by Pat Cummins after an uncomfortable stay at the crease-spanning 8 deliveries.

Though he made some assured performances in the ODI series in the recent tour of New Zealand (47, 40* and 90), his recent performances against Australia would raise some eyebrows. It is not just the scores, but his composure itself seems to be missing. This, coupled with the advent of Vijay Shankar in the current series which has given India a variety of utility all-rounders vying to get into the playing XI.

All of this could mean that Rayudu could make way for Kedar Jadhav in his position to accommodate both Shankar and Hardik Pandya in the team. Virat Kohli himself had stated that he was open to batting at No. 4 if it lent the team better stability, with possibly KL Rahul coming in at No. 3. The other option would be MS Dhoni, a school of thought to which man has lent his voice, with Jadhav, Shankar and Pandya fitting into the middle order.

Rayudu needs to pull up his socks ahead of the World Cup

With a lot of talent vying for a limited number of places on the squad, every player needs to put in their best performances in each game. Rayudu especially needs to stand up and get himself counted, as his performances in the remainder of the series will be under extra scrutiny. Even though the 33-year-old has an average of 41 as a No. 4 batsman, his numbers in 2019 has gone terribly down. In 10 ODI matches this year, Rayudu has amassed 247 runs at 30.87, which is clearly alarming.

Here’s how Twitter reacted