ASIA CUP 2018

Kohli-less India can still win: Ambati Rayudu

by Cricbuzz Staff • Last updated on

"Dhoni always been the go-to man for everybody in the team." © BCCI

Ambati Rayudu, back into the national team after successfully passing the Yo-Yo test, believes that MS Dhoni is the man who can inspire the Indian team in the absence of regular captain, Virat Kohli. The Indian captain was rested from the ongoing Asia Cup after an arduous tour of England with Rohit Sharma named as the stand-in captain for the six-nation event.

Rayudu conceded that Kohli's absence was a big loss but also felt that the team could look at Dhoni for guidance. Rayudu played under the Indian wicket-keeper in the 2018 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) for eventual champions, Chennai Super Kings (CSK), and enjoyed a stupendous season with the bat.

"Obviously he (Virat) is a big miss and loss to the team. However, we still have enough quality in the team to go out and win. He (Dhoni) has been India's captain and always been the go-to man for everybody in the team," Rayudu said on Saturday (September 15).

Under Dhoni's captaincy at CSK, Rayudu shone as a batsman and finished with 602 runs - fourth highest in the season. Crediting Dhoni for the upswing in his fortunes, Rayudu feels that the inputs provided to him proved to be extremely useful. "He has helped me a lot in terms of how I recovered this season," the Indian middle-order batsman said.

The absence of Kohli provides opportunities to fringe players in the Indian set-up and Rayudu is amongst those in with a chance to grab a permanent spot in the middle-order ahead of the upcoming 2019 World Cup. However, the 32-year old batsman isn't thinking long term as yet. "To be very honest, (I) haven't thought about it or looked at it as a competition. It's just an opportunity to express myself and (I) don't want to put more pressure to my game by thinking about these," he said.

Rayudu is in direct competition for the vacant number four slot along with the Karnataka duo of KL Rahul and Manish Pandey, but believes that none of the batsmen are thinking about the World Cup as of now. "We are in for the Asia Cup and I don't think anybody is thinking about it right now," he said.

India begin their 2018 Asia Cup campaign against Hong Kong on Tuesday (September 18) before taking on arch-rivals Pakistan a day later (September 19). Rayudu though believes that it's not a disadvantage to be featuring in back-to-back games. "I don't think it will be a disadvantage. It will be definitely tough and I'm sure we will do the best possible things to recover and go out fresh to play the next game."

Rayudu said he was disappointed to miss out on the ODI and T20I series in England but is equally relieved to earn the call-up now. "Obviously it was frustrating to miss out on the England tour. But I'm happy that I could come back, give the test and get picked to play in the Asia Cup. This year I played well in the IPL. The main thing is that I feel age doesn't matter as long as you are fit," he concluded.

© Cricbuzz

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