Being in the A side does recognise the fact that one is good, but it also poses a challenge: Is one good enough, asks Shriniwas Rao, in the Indian Express.
Over the years, many cricketers have passed through this stage and they speak about how maintaining a positive attitude is a tall ask during this ‘so-close-yet-so-far’ phase. Ambati Rayudu got the India A break when he was 17 and, considering his rapid rise from the ranks, he thought making the senior team was an eventuality waiting to happen. Soon, the harsh reality about the packed Indian middle-order dawned on him. “There were no vacancies in the senior team. Even someone like VVS Laxman had been left out of the World Cup squad. That is the time when it can get a little frustrating. I’ve been with the India A squad on six occasions and each time that frustration has only increased. With every tour I hope things might turn for the better, but it doesn’t happen,” he says. Such was his state of mind that Rayudu joined the rebel Indian Cricket League (ICL) and that meant saying a final goodbye to the dreams of wearing an India cap.
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