08 May,2019 07:07 AM IST | | mid-day online correspondent
Vijay Shankar and Ambati Rayudu
Ambati Rayudu was a certainty for India's 2019 World Cup squad before the IPL 2019 started, but when April 15 came, the Indian team selection committee surprised one and all by omitting Rayudu from the squad and picking the fast-bowling all-rounder Vijay Shankar in the 15-man Indian squad.
Ambati Rayudu was visibly upset after the selection decision and tweeted his discontentment with a cheeky tweet, which read, "Just Ordered a new set of 3d glasses to watch the World Cup," Rayudu wrote on his Twitter handle yesterday. Rayudu's was left out of the squad just a few months after captain Virat Kohli had more or less earmarked him for the number four position.
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The funny thing that has happened after the whole Rayudu vs Shankar debacle, is that both the players have got identical numbers in the IPL.
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Both Rayudu and Shankar ended the IPL 2019 league stages with a tally of 219 runs with a similar average of 19.90. However, Shankar played an innings less, while holding a stronger strike rate of 120.32.
Ambati Rayudu struggled in the IPL 2019 despite an innings of 57, he finished with a strike rate of 90.49.
Both Ambati Rayudu and Vijay Shankar's teams have qualified for the IPL 2019 playoffs, with Chennai Super Kings losing the Qualifier against Mumbai Indians.
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There are still chances of both the players facing each other in the IPL 2019 final, and if that happens, it will be interesting to see the number of dimensions both the players show off in the match.
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