I backed Virat Kohli when MS Dhoni and Gary Kirsten had not heard of him, says Dilip Vengsarkar
Former Indian selector Dilip Vengsarkar insisted on Virat Kohli’s selection in the Indian side when the then skipper MS Dhoni and coach Gary Kirsten had not even heard about him. Vengsarkar has also recalled how he insisted Sachin Tendulkar to be picked for the Mumbai side under his captaincy.
Virat Kohli is undoubtedly the best batsman in contemporary cricket and his rise in recent times has been mesmerising. However, Kohli had a lot of competitors in the initial stages and had to drill hard to make it to the Indian side. Former chief selector Dilip Vengsarkar on Sunday alleged that he had backed Kohli’s selection into the Indian side when the then captain Dhoni and coach Kirsten had not even heard about him. At the launch of ‘Howzatt’, a book written by astrologer Greenstone Lobo, Vengsarkar spoke about backing Kohli in the Indian side.
“...Then I picked Virat Kohli in the (national) team straight away. To be honest with you, he used to play (the) Emerging Players tournament in Australia, and that time I was in charge of the selection committee. And I had gone to Australia to see the match and I had picked him (Virat) because they had won the Under 19 World Cup,'" said Vengsarkar, reported PTI.
The former Indian skipper also said that Kohli got the nod at the expense of Subramaniam Badrinath, who was prolific on the domestic circuit back then but how Vengsarkar was impressed by the Delhi-lad’s exceptional talent.
"And in the first game itself he (Virat) scored a hundred (in that tournament). And I was impressed (and thought) he is the boy (and has) exceptional talent. I came back and others had not heard of him. MS Dhoni was the captain, Gary Kirsten was the coach of the India team and they had not heard of him, so they said we should not pick him now at the moment and let him play few games and I was insisting that you must pick this guy, there is no question and they had to drop (S) Badrinath at that time," said Vengsarkar.
Kohli’s India debut came against Sri Lanka back in 2008 and has gradually progressed into a force to be reckoned with across formats. He is now all set to lead India in the upcoming World Cup, starting May 30 in England and Wales.
It seems like Vengsarkar made the right decision when it came to Kohli and also spoke about Sachin Tendulkar’s inclusion in the Mumbai side for the Ranji Trophy under his watchful captaincy.
"Sachin Tendulkar was picked when I was the captain of the Bombay team, everybody was against him, saying he was too small at that time but I insisted that he should be picked," Vengsarkar recalled.
