“A big thanks to Sachin Tendulkar and Mumbai Indians,” says Ambati Rayudu. Rayudu had a terrific debut as he played a brilliant innings of 63 which showed that how much hunger he has for runs. His ability to keep price on his wicket drew attention and he is thankful to his team members of Mumbai Indians for that.
Rayudu was always in contention of getting the place in Indian team but opportunities were hard to come by during the tough period he had. But now he is happy to live his dream of playing for his country. He was quoted by Times of India saying, "Sachin (Tendulkar) and Robin Singh especially helped me a lot and I'd definitely like to thank them for that," Rayudu said.
"I always had the belief that if I could get things right and I could get my mind right I could make it into the team one day, and I'm really happy that I got my chance today," he added.
His partnership of 159 runs for the third wicket with Virat Kohli guided India to an easy win in the first ODI against Zimbabwe. Rayudu was quoted by Hindustan Times saying, “It feels marvellous. It's been pretty emotional. More than nervous, I was very emotional.”
Rayudu was in awe of Kohli, who smashed a match-winning 115 runs against the Zimbabweans and was quoted by Indian Express saying, "I think he's playing the best cricket possible. I definitely feel that he's the best in the world right now in the one-day format. He made it a lot easier for me, and I was just looking at the way he was constructing his innings. It's a very good learning experience."
Rayudu, who has played 80 first-class matches averaging over 46 for his 5183 runs, also thanked his family for standing by him during the struggling days.
"My family, my friends and especially the Mumbai Indians support staff (have been there for me)," Rayudu said.