Former India opener Shikhar Dhawan took a light-hearted dig at his ex-teammate and 2004 U19 World Cup captain Ambati Rayudu during his Hindi commentary stint in the Punjab Kings vs Royal Challengers Bengaluru IPL 2025 match. Dhawan jokingly held Rayudu responsible for India’s semifinal loss to archrivals Pakistan in the ICC U19 World Cup 2004.

Back in 2004, Rayudu was leading a promising Indian squad and was seen as the next big thing in Indian cricket. India cruised through the group stage and reached the semifinal, where they were set to face Pakistan. However, a major blow came when Rayudu was banned from the crucial match due to a slow over rate in the final group game against Sri Lanka—an offense confirmed by both on-field umpires.

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Pakistan initially struggled during their chase in the semifinal, but managed to regroup and snatch a victory from India, securing their place in the final. They went on to defeat the West Indies to lift the U19 World Cup. Reflecting on the incident, Dhawan quipped that Rayudu’s absence in the semifinal had a significant impact on the team’s performance and may have cost them a spot in the final.

Watch the hilarious moment here: 

 

 

 

 

 

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Dhawan recalled his U/19 days

During his IPL 2025 commentary stint, Shikhar Dhawan recalled that Ambati Rayudu was a prominent name in U19 cricket and had captained India in the U19 World Cup. He mentioned that Rayudu was banned ahead of the semifinal match, which, according to Dhawan, significantly impacted the team’s performance and led to their loss in that crucial game.

"Ambati Rayudu ka bahut bada naam tha U19 mai. Humare captain the U19 World Cup mei aur waha pe bhi ban hogaye the, humara semi-final mar gaya (Ambati Rayudu was a big name in U19 cricket. He was our captain in the U19 World Cup, and he got banned there also ahead of the semi-final, and we lost," said Shikhar Dhawan during his IPL 2025 commentary work. 

In place of regular skipper Ambati Rayudu, Dinesh Karthik was assigned to lead the team in the semifinal. Batting first, Team India scored 168 runs; Robin Uthappa was the top scorer with 33. Pakistan in the second innings had a tough time at the beginning, losing wickets at regular intervals, which resulted in 5 for 83. From here, the neighboring country team turned the tables with the help of Tariq Mahmood (45 not out) and Fawad Alam (43 not out). Together, the duo stitched a match-winning 88-run partnership.