Ambati Rayudu's '3D Glasses' Tweet After World Cup Snub

By April 2019, Ambati Rayudu had comprehensively established himself as the substantial preferred middle-order batsman in India's One-Day International team, having been substantially consistent at the No. 4 position throughout the substantial 2018-19 season including the comprehensive ODI series against Australia and New Zealand that immediately preceded the 2019 ICC Cricket World Cup. The substantial No. 4 position had been the comprehensive subject of sustained debate throughout the 2017-19 period — with India's substantial inability to settle on a comprehensive long-term incumbent at the position being widely identified as the substantial one selection puzzle that the team management had failed to comprehensively resolve. The substantial Rayudu's record at No. 4 in the period leading up to the World Cup squad selection had been comprehensively credible — he had scored substantial runs at a substantial average and had demonstrated the comprehensive temperament that the position required — and the comprehensive expectation among the substantial cricketing media and the broader public was that Rayudu would substantially be selected in the 15-man World Cup squad as the comprehensive No. 4 incumbent. The substantial selection committee under chairman MSK Prasad, however, was comprehensively considering an alternative substantial framework for the No. 4 position, with the substantial all-rounder Vijay Shankar being progressively promoted into the comprehensive squad calculations on the basis of his substantial three-dimensional skill set comprising batting, medium-pace bowling and fielding capability.

The substantial selection committee meeting that determined the comprehensive 15-man squad for the 2019 ICC Cricket World Cup was held in Mumbai on 15 April 2019. The substantial squad announcement, made by selection committee chairman MSK Prasad, comprehensively included Vijay Shankar at No. 4 and substantially excluded Ambati Rayudu — a comprehensive selection decision that was widely interpreted as the substantial substitution of Shankar for Rayudu at the comprehensive No. 4 position. In the comprehensive press conference that followed the squad announcement, Prasad explained the substantial reasoning behind the Shankar selection by describing him as a substantial 'three-dimensional player' whose comprehensive all-round skills — batting, medium-pace bowling and fielding — provided the team with the substantial flexibility that an inclusion of Rayudu (an essentially specialist batsman) would not have substantially provided. The substantial '3D player' formulation, used by Prasad to comprehensively justify the Shankar selection, would within hours become the substantial focus of comprehensive social media commentary and would substantially provide Rayudu with the comprehensive material for what would become one of the substantially memorable Indian cricketing tweets of recent years.

Ambati Rayudu had been India's first-choice number four batsman throughout 2018-19, with captain Virat Kohli and coach Ravi Shastri publicly backing him for the World Cup spot. However, when the squad was announced, Rayudu was omitted in favor of all-rounder Vijay Shankar. Chief selector MSK Prasad justified the selection by calling Shankar a "three-dimensional" player who could bat, bowl, and field.

Rayudu responded with a now-legendary tweet: "Just Ordered a new set of 3d glasses to watch the world cup." The tweet went viral, becoming one of cricket's most iconic social media moments. It perfectly captured the frustration of a player who felt he had been unfairly treated after being groomed for the position. Rayudu briefly announced his retirement from cricket in frustration, though he later reversed the decision.

The saga highlighted the opaque and often arbitrary nature of Indian cricket's selection process. Ironically, Shankar was injured during the World Cup and barely contributed, while Rayudu — who had been named as a standby — was not called up. The "3D" episode became shorthand for questionable selection decisions in Indian cricket and sparked broader discussions about transparency and accountability in the selection process.

“Just ordered a new set of 3d glasses to watch the world cup.”

“Vijay Shankar is a three-dimensional player who substantially provides the team with batting, bowling and fielding capabilities. His comprehensive selection at No. 4 reflects the substantial value that we place on this three-dimensional skill set.”

“I have nothing personal against Vijay Shankar. The comprehensive tweet was satire directed at the selectors and at the substantial '3D player' justification, not at Vijay personally.”

“I substantially understand the comprehensive context of Ambati's tweet and I have no substantial issue with him. The comprehensive selection decision was made by the selectors, not by me, and I was substantially grateful for the opportunity that the selection comprehensively provided.”

The substantial immediate aftermath of the tweet was comprehensively complex. The substantial social media response was comprehensively positive in respect of Rayudu's substantial wit and his comprehensive willingness to publicly call out the selection decision, with the substantial '3D glasses' formulation comprehensively going viral within hours and being widely shared by Indian cricket fans across substantial platforms. The substantial response from the BCCI and team management was comprehensively more guarded — there was substantial private concern that the comprehensive public criticism of the selectors might substantially damage team unity ahead of the World Cup, and the substantial absence of a public BCCI response was widely interpreted as a comprehensive deliberate decision to allow the substantial controversy to subside without further escalation. The substantial subsequent World Cup itself produced a comprehensive twist — Vijay Shankar suffered a substantial toe injury after a few matches and was comprehensively replaced in the squad, but the substantial replacement called up was Mayank Agarwal rather than Rayudu, substantially confirming the comprehensive perception that the selectors had moved on from Rayudu permanently. The substantial Rayudu's response to the comprehensive double snub was to announce his substantial retirement from international cricket in mid-2019, although he subsequently substantially walked back the retirement and continued to play domestic and IPL cricket. The substantial international career, however, was comprehensively over — the comprehensive 2019 World Cup snub proved to be the substantial end of his substantial India career.