Former India captain was sacked as selector for picking Virat Kohli over CSK star; spotted Rohit while attending wedding
The story of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma's selection is nothing short of fascinating, and it highlights the importance of backing instincts over statistics.
When Nitish Kumar Reddy reverse slapped Scott Boland for a six in the day-night Test against Australia, the cameras searched for India head coach Gautam Gambhir in the dressing room. Gambhir, after all, had faced a lot of tough questions for backing Reddy and Harshit Rana without much first-class credentials. Gambhir went with his instincts, which told him that Reddy and Rana were meant for big things. This was not the first time something like this was unfolding in Indian cricket. Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma—the cynosure of the current Indian batting line-up and the envy of teams across the globe—would not have played international cricket, let alone been successful if it wasn't for a former India captain. Rohit was not considered for the Mumbai team, while Kohli was nowhere in discussion in the team management when Dilip Vengsarkar, the then-chairman of the selectors, spotted them, backed his instincts and in the end, in his own words, lost his job for picking one of them over another cricketer favoured by then BCCI treasurer N Srinivasan.
The cricketer Vengsarkar backed was Kohli, and the one who missed out was Subramaniam Badrinath. The captain and coach in question were obviously MS Dhoni and Gary Kirsten.
Vengsarkar, 61, took over as chief selector in 2006 from ex-India stumper Kiran More. Vengsarkar’s team was also tasked with revamping the India team following the first-round elimination at the 2007 World Cup in the West Indies, which also led to Greg Chappell's exit as coach.
Vengsarkar, known for his keen eye for spotting talent from a mile away, was highly impressed by Kohli's exploits in the U19 World Cup in Malaysia in 2008. Under Kohli's leadership, India beat South Africa in a heated final to lift the U19 World Cup. Kohli scored 235 runs in six matches in that tournament. But legend has it, Vengsarkar would have backed Kohli even if had scored half of these runs. Stats never really mattered for the Colonel. He always trusted his gut feeling when backing a talent. And Kohli sure was one.
Kohli was picked for the India A team for the four-nation Emerging Players Trophy in Australia. Vengsarkar travelled all the way to Brisbane to watch the next generation of Indian cricketers in action. Kohli, who got his opportunity at the top of the order, scored a sublime century against New Zealand. That was enough for Vengsarkar. He was satisfied with what he saw. He wanted to pick Kohli for the Sri Lanka tour. But it wasn't easy.
Although he was able to convince the other members of the selection committee, captain MS Dhoni and coach Kirsten were not ready to pick some rookie Delhi batter they had not seen. But the biggest resentment came from the influential Srinivasan, who was heavily in favour of Badrinath, a Chennai Super Kings and Tamil Nadu player, who was a prolific run-scorer in domestic cricket.
Vengsarkar had his way in picking Kohli for the Sri Lanka tour. He played in all matches in that five-game series, which India won 3-2. Kohli aggregated 159 runs at an average of over 31 with one half-century – a match-winning 54 as an opener in the fourth game
Later, Vengsarkar said that despite listing Kohli’s credentials, Srinivasan took the matter to then BCCI president Sharad Pawar, which ended his tenure, a claim Srinivasan vehemently refused. “I didn’t interfere in selection matters," Srinivasan would go on to say.
The story behind Rohit Sharma's selection
Even before the Kohli incident, Vengsarkar had stamped his authority as the selector with Rohit Sharma's selection. The Indian Express reported that back in 2005-06, Rohit was just one of many young cricketers from Mumbai, displaying elegance and the ability to take his time at the crease, but not accumulating many runs to his name. While the Mumbai selectors continued to back him, their patience was beginning to wear thin.
Then, fate intervened in a fortuitous manner. Vengsarkar happened to be in Delhi NCR for a wedding, and coincidentally, Rohit was also there for a match between Indian Oil and ONGC. As the national selector, Vengsarkar decided to take some time to watch the game, and it turned out to be a fortuitous choice for Indian cricket. On that day, Rohit delivered an exceptional performance, scoring a century and dominating a bowling attack that included notable bowlers like Munaf Patel and Amit Mishra.
Vengsarkar left the ground thoroughly impressed. He relayed his recommendations to the Mumbai Ranji selectors, who agreed to include Rohit for the Irani Trophy. However, he wasn’t selected in the XI initially. This prompted Vengsarkar to step in personally, advocating for the young talent to be included in the Deodhar Trophy. In that tournament, Rohit showcased his brilliance with a stunning score of 143 against North Zone. Vengsarkar’s decision to back him proved to be right on the mark.
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