Determination Kohli showed at U23 level made selectors push him to senior team, reveals Dilip Vengsarkar

Viewed as the Indian cricket team’s ‘next big thing’ since his younger days for Delhi, Virat Kohli made the world take notice of him in 2008, when he led the Indian Under-19 side to victory in the U19 World Cup in 2008. However, the now-Indian skipper was tearing it in domestic cricket even before the U19 World Cup, and scored 373 runs at an average of 53 in the 2007/08 Ranji Trophy, at just the age of 19, giving a glimpse of his potential.

Eventually, Kohli made his international debut just months after the U19 World Cup, against a strong Sri Lankan side, but according to India’s former chairman of selectors Dilip Vengsarkar, it was a ton from Kohli in a U23 game which caught the national selectors’ attention.

"When there was an emerging players' tournament in Australia, I was the chairman of the selection committee. We had decided at that point of time that we must pick players who were fringe players or who would play for India very soon, especially the U-23 boys. So we had picked Virat Kohli in the team," Vengsarkar said during a live chat with Sportskeeda, reported Times Now.

Vengsarkar, who served as chief selector between 2006 and 2008, revealed that Kohli went on to score an unbeaten ton in the game, but it was the youngster’s determination to take the team home in the chase which grabbed the selectors’ attention. The 64-year-old revealed the mental maturity Kohli showed in that game was a green light to the selectors that the Delhite was ready for international cricket.

"In the first match against New Zealand, they had scored 240-250 and Virat Kohli was asked to open the innings and he scored 123*. What I appreciated was that even after his hundred, he went on to win the game for his team and he remained not out. That really impressed me and there I thought that here is a boy that we must push into the Indian team because he was mentally mature and of course we picked him and the rest is history.”

Kohli has since gone on to establish himself as one of the greatest batsmen of all time, having scored a remarkable 70 international tons.