Hyderabad, Jul 2: One man's pain can be another man's gain. The hamstring injury to skipper MS Dhoni during the on-going Tri-Nation ODI series in the West Indies has opened the doors for Ambati Rayudu.
This is the second time that Rayudu has been named as a replacement for an injured player. He had got his first national call for the T20 series against England in December last year as a replacement for Manoj Tiwary but didn't get to make his debut. He was also among the 30 probables for the World T20 tournament earlier that year but had failed to make the cut.
The talented right-handed batsman has had a relatively calm IPL this year - 265 runs in 19 matches - but scored when it mattered most.
"I am very excited about the prospect of donning the National colours. It has come as a surprise to me," said the 27-year-old Rayudu, who was in a theatre watching a Telugu movie.
"It is very unfortunate that Dhoni has suffered an injury. It is not the best of circumstances to get a call but I look forward to the series," Rayudu added.
Rayudu, who for long has been touted as an India prospect, has had many ups and downs in his career and at one point of time looked as if he had missed the bus. But his IPL stint for the Mumbai Indians revived his career and brought him back into the National contention. Rayudu followed it up with some good performances for Baroda for whom he has been playing since making a comeback to the BCCI fold.
The likes of Suresh Raina, Robin Uthappa, Irfan Pathan, RP Singh, Dinesh Karthik and Shikhar Dhawan had played under the captaincy of Rayudu at the under-19 level.
But a series of off-the-field happenings ensured that Rayudu was consigned to the back bench while the others went on to play for the country.
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