When the Indian squad was announced for the ICC Cricket World Cup, chief selector MSK Prasad revealed that they had picked Vijay Shankar in the side since he was a player who can offer his services in all three departments and that he was a 3D player.

“After the Champions Trophy (2017), we tried quite a few people in that position. We did give a few more chances to Rayudu. Vijay Shankar is three dimensional. We are looking at him at no. 4 to begin with,” Prasad said after the squad was announced.

However, this then elicited a response from Ambati Rayudu who in an apparent dig at the selector Tweeted: “Just Ordered a new set of 3D glasses to watch the World Cup.”

While Shankar was an important member for Sunrisers Hyderabad in the middle order, Ambati Rayudu held the key for Chennai Super Kings. However, it was not a bumper season for either one of them and now, when the league stage is finally over, in a unique quirk of fate, both of them have identical numbers.

Both Rayudu and Shankar ended with a tally of 219 innings with a similar average of 19.90. However, Shankar played an innings less, while holding a stronger strike rate of 120.32.

Rayudu struggled to get going and despite an innings of 57, he finished with a strike rate of 90.49.

Well, this is how things stand and for Vijay Shankar, his form needs to improve as he will be expected to be a key batsman for India in the upcoming World Cup.

First Published: May 06, 2019 13:53 IST