Ambati Rayudu is one of the most talented players to have ever played the game for Men in Blue. He has the right mindset to play. He has the right techniqe to counter any kind of bowling. He has the right will to do best for his team. And yet, he is one of the undervalued players of our country. Life has always been unfair for Rayudu as he was always at the receiving end of policies by BCCI.

He recently made it to the headlines when he was selected to play for Texas Super Kings in Major League Cricket happening in United States. But yesterday, he withdrew from the league citing personal reasons, only to understand that it was not personal reasons, but the change of policy by BCCI for retired players, whic led him to take this decision. But this is not the first time he was unfortunate to be at the wrong end.

There were enough instances of the same. Rayudu is one of the players who showed early promise in list A cricket. The youngest to score hundred and double hundred in Ranji trophy, he had already made his mark. Furthermore, his strong performance in the Indian A tour of England in 2003 made everyone take his notice. He amassed 291 runs in 3 matches in hus debut series for India A, and the most notable was his innings of 177 not out, which helped India win an impossible looking win in 3rd odi on a pitch difficult to bat.

His strong performances continued for domestic as well as India A teams, and he impressed everyone. He was looked up as the next big thing in Indian cricket. It seemed like he is going to get a well deserved chance for senior team sooner or later. But he had to wait really long for his well-deserved chance. It was in 2013 when he got to play in the blues for the first time. But how come a player like him, thought to be the next big thing, not get a chance early?

That's question one should ask to the board and selectors who kept ignoring him for so long. Selectors changed, board's president changed, however his fate remained the same. He never had luck favouring him. Initially back in 2003-04, he was not given a chance stating he needs more experience of India A tours, and that he was too young for it. He played with same passion for next few years, hoping to make it to the team.

That's when ICL happened. Indian Cricket League, which was the first franchise league of India selected best players present at that time. The popularity of the league went on increasing. The rising popularity did not go well with BCCI, and further the decision of ICL owners to not merge with board hurt board's self-respect. The result was ban on ICL, which was fine. But what was worse was a ban on the players playing in that league. And unfortunately Rayudu was one of those players. The ego clash between board and owners of the league destroyed the careers of many players like him.

But Rayudu was a fighter. And in spite of these setbacks, he appeared in IPL after serving the ban. He consistently performed well for the Mumbai Indians, yet he had to wait for a slot opening for him in the team, and when it did happen, finally he and players like him including likes of Kedar Jadhav got their chance in 2013 against Zimbabwe. Even after selection, selectors kept ignoring him on occasions and never gave him a chance to be a permenant member of playing eleven.

It was only after 2016-17 when he got frequent chances in the main squad. He performed well playing at number 4. He was batting well, he was consistent, and he looked in great touch. It was almost obvious to see him in the World Cup 2019 squad, only to find out that Vijay Shankar has replaced him. The batter who was tested for around 2 years and was performing good, was dropped from the side. If this was not enough, BCCI further didn't follow their word , which said that Rayudu will be the first preference if there is any injury scare. But the 2 injures Indian camp saw, did not allow him to be in the squad as he was not named as replacement on both the occasions.

Due to BCCI's politics in the later years, and ego in the 2007 ICL saga, a player like Ambati Rayudu went underutilised. It's hard to imagine a player who was considered to be the country's future , never getting a chance to play in any of the world cups for the team. Whether intentional or not from the board, he was always the unluckiest one to be at the receiving end. It happened throughout his career. And knowing he had no chance to comeback on the Indian team, he announced his retirement from all forms of Indian cricket. It was supposed to free him and give him the liberty to play wherever he wants.

However, yet again his fortune didn't favour him. Rayudu was all set to play for Texas Super Kings, and it was a moment of happiness for the fans. But BCCI changed its policy to allow the retired players play after serving "cooling-off period", which therefore denied Rayudu a chance to play in United States. The Indian board always came in between his success. Earlier, it was the lack of vision, then it was their lack of empathy, and lastly it was their favouritism from the board which all affected Rayudu's chances. And to go a step further, it was a unnecessary intervention from the board which denied him happiness playing for another league after retiring from all forms of Indian cricket. Therefore, in spite of being one of the most talented guys , he never get the respect he deserved. And he would unfortunately be remembered as one of the most amazing, yet unlucky guys in Indian cricket. One can just hope to not see any example like Rayudu, who inspite of having potential went unnoticed.