Disgusting that Ambati Rayudu is judged based on IPL form, says Gautam Gambhir

Rayudu had been a regular feature in the Indian side since the Asia Cup in September last year. He notched up four fifties and a hundred during this period and seemed to be a certainty in India’s World Cup squad. But post three failures against Australia after a 90-run innings in New Zealand meant that the Hyderabad batsman was snubbed from the 15-man squad for the quadrennial event in England and Wales, and was later named as one of the standby options.

Gautam Gambhir termed the omission of Rayudu as disgusting as he felt that the batsman was ignored due to his form in the ongoing Indian Premier League, where he has just scored 163 runs in nine matches.

"It is disgusting to see that he is being judged more on his IPL form and less on his overall skill-set. I am not a big fan of statistics as they never tell the whole story," stated Gambhir, reported The Times of India.

The former Kolkata Knight Riders skipper made it clear that statistics are not the way to go with regard to the selection of a player, and also gave the example of Andre Russell, who was drafted in KKR after two poor seasons with Delhi Daredevils.

"Before we played him in 2014, Russell had only 58 runs to show in seven games for his earlier franchise Delhi Daredevils. If these dry numbers were the only criterion, Russell should have been fishing somewhere in Jamaica. In short, Rayudu had a strong case to be in the (World Cup) team," explained the 37-year-old.

Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, and Bhuvneshwar Kumar are the only three frontline pacers in the squad, whereas four other pacers Deepak Chahar, Avesh Khan, Khaleel Ahmed and Navdeep Saini have been named as the net bowlers, with the latter also being named as a standby. The former India captain was taken aback by the fact that the selectors only went ahead with three pacers, that too, for such a long tournament which will consist of nine ODIs in the league stages.

"I must say I am surprised by the fact that we are going in with just three specialist fast bowlers," he wrote.

"I tried to visit and then revisit this fact but I have still not been able to get my head around these selections. I have always believed that whatever be the format, it is the batsmen who set up the games and bowlers are the ones who win them. Therefore, I feel we are a little light in the fast-bowling department,” he added.

India do have other fast bowling all-rounders in Vijay Shankar and Hardik Pandya, but Gambhir believed that their selection cannot justify the fact that India have only three pacers in the English conditions.

"With due respect to Hardik Pandya and Vijay Shankar, I feel they are still work in progress. With two new balls at each end and strike rates going through the roof, any captain would need a cushion of an extra fast bowler," the 2011 World Cup winner remarked.

Saini has looked impressive for his franchise Royal Challengers Bangalore this season, and has consistently bowled at speeds of around 150 kmph. The southpaw felt that the 26-year-old would have been a good choice for the flight to England.

"To cut a long story short, I would have gone with one more (fast bowler), perhaps Navdeep Saini in place of Vijay,” he asserted.

Dinesh Karthik edged out Rishabh Pant to make a cut as the second wicket-keeper in the slot. Gambhir felt that the 21-year-old has a lot of time, and suggested him to fix the chunks in his armour.

"With regards to Rishabh, I think he has age on his side. I am certain that with better shot selection, he will serve India for a long, long time. He is a bundle of talent who needs to be handled carefully," he concluded.