The Indian team management anointed Ambati Rayudu as the man for the No. 4 spot in ODIs. Having accepted the challenge, Rayudu doesn’t seem to be under any kind of pressure.
Speaking on the eve of the second ODI versus West Indies in Visakhapatnam, the India middle-order batsman said the responsibility does not “pressurise” him at all, as he preferred to stay in the present.
“Not really… Batting at No. 4 doesn’t pressurise me,” Rayudu said on Tuesday.
It was the day before the first ODI in Guwahati when captain Virat Kohli backed him for a position where quite a few batsmen have been tried since the tour of Sri Lanka last year.
Rayudu began his first-class career way back in 2001-02 but had to wait till 2013 to make his international debut, against Zimbabwe. At present, he is just focused on the ongoing series.
“To be very honest, I am just focused on this series at the moment and not really thinking too far ahead. I don’t think it (batting at No. 4) is new for me, as I have been batting in the middle order for long.
“There is nothing new that the team management has asked me to do. They just asked me to go out there and play my game,” he said.
Dropped from the ODI squad for England after failing the mandatory Yo-Yo test, Rayudu emphasised that working on fitness has become his priority.
“I have been working on my fitness right from my injury. I don’t think the Yo-Yo test had any bearing on how I was preparing or how I was going about my fitness… I am happy that I could clear the test.
“It’s not that I wasn’t in contention, even before the IPL. It’s just that I had a few injuries. The IPL was good platform to come back strong, especially on the fitness part,” Rayudu elaborated.
In the first ODI, the Windies bowling attack was not able to challenge the Indian batting at all even after scoring 320-plus. But thanks to the top-order exploits in Guwahati, India’s middle order couldn’t be tested.
Rayudu, however, did not read much into it. “Obviously, it’s great that the top three batsmen are doing so well for our team. It’s a challenge for the middle order to always be ready to get in and bat. I am sure everybody is up for it, as everybody knows and understands the situation.
“It’s just one game where their (Windies’) bowling went wrong. I still think they bowled well, and it’s just that Virat and Rohit (Sharma) batted brilliantly. I feel their bowlers will pose a good challenge in the coming games,” Rayudu said.
The Windies too seem to have realised the importance of putting India's middle order to test. Captain Jason Holder, thus, urged his bowlers to rise to the occasion.
'Our spinners didn't do as well as we would have liked in the last game. Credit to the two Indians who played outstanding knocks. But I do feel (Devendra) Bishoo came into his own in his second spell.
'He got the wicket of Kohli, which is crucial for his confidence. It's important for him to be a bit more expressive and look to take wickets, while (Ashley) Nurse just needs to just build more pressure and take one or two wickets in the middle overs.
'The wicket might suit a little bit of spin. Hopefully, whoever is picked, delivers,' Holder was quoted as saying by a cricket-specific website.
