5 Indian cricketers who can make it to the full-strength team based on their performances in Zimbabwe

#1 Ambati Rayudu

Ambati Rayudu became the fourth fastest Indian to reach 1000 runs in ODI cricket

It is not the first time that Ambati Rayudu has featured in such a list. Rather, he has always been there. An average of 50.23 from 34 ODI matches and over 1000 international runs have not been enough to cement his place permanently in the Indian team. The Hyderabad cricketer has been on the fringes of the side as well as on the bench since he made his international debut against Zimbabwe three years back, in 2013. In this series as well, the cricketer did not harm to his reputation, as he started his series with two gritty knocks of 62* and 41* to help India register comfortable victories and seal the series within two games.

The 30-year-old is also a good ground fielder, as was evident through the catches that he took during the ODIs as well as the T20I and can also fill in as a backup wicketkeeper if the need arises. Rayudu’s strength, however, lies with the bat and he can bring a calming influence to the jittery Indian middle order through his disciplined, patient batting, and can also raise the bar through his powerful hitting as was evident in the IPL, wherein he played many a memorable knock for the Mumbai Indians.