It takes blood, sweat, toil, tears and sacrifices galore over a significant period of time for a majority of people across walks of life to achieve a life goal their hearts have always desired. International athletes, similarly, in someone like former Indian batter Ambati Rayudu, had to grind his way up by taking the path less traveled by as well.
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A teenage prodigy in the truest sense of the term, Rayudu rose to prominence upon leading India U-19 in ICC Under-19 World Cup 2004, just two years after making his First-class and List A debut for Hyderabad. However, the truckload of potential couldn’t meet the opportunities which could have earned him a direct berth in the national side, much of the reason for which perhaps he had to do with the tumultuous progression of his professional career over the years.
The right-handed batter had taken the route of the BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India) rebel and unsanctioned ICL (Indian Cricket League) in 2007 after having dented his relationship with then then HCA (Hyderabad Cricket Association) administration and support staff. The ugly fallout resulted in him plying his trade for Andhra for the 2005/06 season, only to return back to his native state again. Rayudu, who later joined Baroda, claims it to be a “turning point” of his career.
In addition to making runs for Baroda and Mumbai Indians consistently, Rayudu also implemented several sacrificing habits which allowed him to earn a maiden T20I call-up for the first time in 2012.
During an interaction with popular YouTuber Ranveer Allahabadia on his channel BeerBiceps around a week ago, Rayudu had revealed how, in order to accomplish his goal of making it to the Indian team, he had forgone certain habits including remaining away from a mobile phone for as many as nine years.
“I’ve not used a phone for nine years. There was no way people could get in touch with me because I wanted to be in that zone without any distractions. I played a lot of cricket with Baroda Cricket Association. So, during that time, my only goal was to make it to the Indian side. If I didn’t like something, I used to react faster at an early age. So, I used to do a lot of things that I did not like just to get used to get out of your comfort zone and all that.
“So, if I liked some food or something, you would give up on that. You would give up on movies, you would give up on a lot of things just to make sure that every single thing you are doing is towards your goal.”
Ambati Rayudu – An Eternal Wanderer
Before leading India to the U-19 World Cup semi-final, Rayudu had found himself under the spotlight in the domestic circuit due to his performance in Ranji Trophy 2002/03, wherein he had amassed 698 runs including a double century and a century in the same match.
However, ordinary returns in the next couple of seasons in addition to the aforementioned strained relationships and an infamous fight with the son of then-HCA supremo Shivlal Yadav had resulted in his move to Andhra.
Representing Hyderabad Heroes in the ICL despite BCCI warning players and officials against participating in the tournament, Rayudu had to serve a two-year ban from playing BCCI-affiliated cricket until 2009.
After successfully doing so, Rayudu played a lone season for Hyderabad only to switch to Baroda from Ranji Trophy 2010/11 onwards. Before deciding to retire from all forms of Indian cricket in May this year, Rayudu had played his last List A match for Baroda itself during Vijay Hazare Trophy 2022/23, but had also represented other domestic teams such as Vidarbha (2016-2017) and Andhra (2020-2022) before the same.
