Following India’s series loss against Ireland, Ambati Rayudu gave an elaborate breakdown to PTI and commented that he “was not surprised” at the result. Rayudu broke down that the players were coming to Belfast after spending two months on the high-scoring flat pitches in the IPL. Rayudu also told the news agency that the pitches in Stormont Cricket Ground (stadium where both the matches were held), provided lateral movement and an uneven, spongy bounce. In the IPL, batters use a heavy downswing to target quick bounce. On slower, two-paced Irish wickets, that exact movement caused mistimed shots, top-edges, and soft dismissals. “No, I’m not really surprised because I don’t think they were prepared well enough for the conditions that they have encountered. It’s always very, very difficult to go from really flat tracks to slightly spongy wickets which have some lateral movement as well,” the former batter said.

Former Indian player, fiercely defended finisher Tilak Varma, who scored a slow 55 off 46 balls in the second T20I. “He doesn’t sweep on the pitch of the ball and there are a lot of shots that he does not play in a conventional manner. If he improves that side of his game, raising the tempo will be secondary, a by-product of that,” Rayudu said. Rayudu explained that Varma's low strike rate was completely a technical limitation, not a mindset issue. According to him, Varma struggled with his footwork against disciplined, slow-bowling variations, which locked down his scoring options. India's top order (Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson, and Ishan Kishan) crumbled instantly to the new ball. Ireland-born left-arm fast bowler Jai Moondra tore through the front line, reminding everyone of India's historical weakness against late left-arm swing.  

“He’ll be much better prepared”: Ambati Rayudu opens up on Vaibhav Sooryavanshi's impending debut in national team

Many fans and critics blasted Shreyas Iyer and Gautam Gambhir's management for leaving young prodigy Vaibhav Sooryavanshi on the bench. Rayudu explicitly disagreed with the backlash. According to Rayudu, It would be fundamentally unfair to drop established players like Sanju Samson or Abhishek Sharma after just one bad game. Rayudu stated that simply soaking up a senior international dressing room atmosphere is an incredibly valuable learning curve for a teenager before his official debut. "I think they did the right thing. It's a good learning curve for Sooryavanshi to be in the dressing room, know the nitty-gritties of what is required to play in the Indian side, and what his role would be. There'll be a lot of learning that he'll take from these games and eventually, whenever he gets his opportunity, he'll be much better prepared”.

 

Former India batter Ambati Rayudu backed Punjab Kings skipper Shreyas Iyer despite his recent dip in form. Rayudu said Iyer should be more aggressive during the early stages of his innings instead of taking too much time to settle. He believes the right-hander has the ability to dominate bowlers from the start and should trust his attacking instincts. Rayudu also expressed confidence that Iyer's experience and leadership would help him bounce back quickly. According to him, captaining Punjab Kings brings extra motivation, and Iyer has the temperament to guide the team through difficult situations. Rayudu added that batting at No. 3 remains the ideal position for Iyer, allowing him to control the innings and anchor the middle order effectively.