Shikhar Dhawan blames former captain for losing World Cup semifinal against Pakistan

Dubai: Former cricketer and one of the ambassadors of ICC Champions Trophy 2025 Shikhar Dhawan before the start of the One Day International (ODI) cricket match of the tournament, between India and Bangladesh, in Dubai, UAE. (PTI Photo/Kamal Kishore)

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Why was Ambati Rayudu banned?

Former India opener Shikhar Dhawan playfully trolled Ambati Rayudu while doing Hindi commentary during the game between Punjab Kings and Royal Challengers Bengaluru.Dhawan and Rayudu had played together since their U-19 days. While reminiscing about those times, Dhawan blamed Rayudu for India's loss against Pakistan in the 2004 U-19 World Cup held in Dhaka, Bangladesh."Ambati Rayudu was a big name in U-19 cricket. He was our captain in the U-19 World Cup, and he got banned there as well ahead of the semifinal, which cost us the match," Dhawan said.In Rayudu's absence, Dinesh Karthik led India in the semifinal, and they lost to Pakistan by five wickets.Batting first, India U-19 posted 169 runs. Robin Uthappa top-scored with 33 runs, while Dhawan only managed eight runs.In reply, Pakistan U-19 chased down the total in 44.5 overs. Pakistan was struggling at 83 for 5 at one stage, but Tariq Mahmood (45 not out) and Fawad Alam (43 not out) put together an unbeaten 88-run partnership for the sixth wicket.Pakistan went on to win the U-19 World Cup, defeating West Indies in the final.Ambati Rayudu, who was the captain of India U-19, missed the semifinal after being banned for one match for breaching the ICC Code of Conduct. Rayudu was reported by umpires Brian Jerling and Billy Doctrove under provision C2 of the ICC Code of Conduct at Level 2 for conduct that brought the game into disrepute.The charge related to excessive time-wasting in the opening overs of the second innings during India's final group match against Sri Lanka on February 26th. India bowled only eight overs in the first 50 minutes of the Sri Lanka innings.

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