Dilip Vengsarkar Recalls The Time When He Realised That Virat Kohli Was A Star In The Making

Former Indian Chief Selector, Dilip Vengsarkar had shed light on the time when he realized that Virat Kohli would be a legend of the game. Vengsarkar is widely regarded as the best chief-selector India ever had due to his ability to spot the right talent early on.

The former skipper’s tenure as chairman of the national selection committee between 2006-08 is often cited as a benchmark for all those who came after him as he backed a very raw Kohli and promoted Mahendra Singh Dhoni to captaincy.

Virat Kohli has been a modern-day legend of the game of cricket. He is widely regarded as the best batsman across all formats in international cricket at the moment. He is the only batsman to have an average above 50 across all formats and breaking records seems a child’s play for him.

However, if he had not been identified by the right man, who knows a unique talent would have succumbed to the ranks in Indian cricket.

Dilip Vengsarkar Recalls The Time He Spotted Kohli’s Ability

“Selecting talent was my forte. I will tell you something. You might be good at spotting talent but what you do after spotting is very important. If someone is talented, you have to induct him and give him chances,” Vengsarkar, who turned 64 on Monday, told PTI in an exclusive interview.

“I have watched a lot of U-16 and U-19s as TRDW chairman and watched Virat a lot during his junior cricket days. So when I became chairman of selection committee, we picked him for an Emerging Tour of Australia. I was there and when I saw him bat, I knew he is ready for big time cricket,” Vengsarkar recalled.

Virat Kohli Had Something Extra In Him: Dilip Vengsarkar

“You can never be sure whether someone will go on to play that long. What I saw was an exceptional talent and if you have an eye, you would know which players are more likely to succeed at the highest level,” Vengsarkar added.

“You need to have something extra. Virat had that,” the former India captain said. “Every selector must have courage and conviction along with eye for talent. If you are convinced about someone, you have to back him to the hilt. That’s what good selectors do,” he said.

Kohli has gone on to prove Vengsarkar right as he has amassed more than 2,1000 runs in international cricket for India so far. He is the prime target for every opposition in modern-day cricket and is a class apart from his contemporaries on the international stage.

The Indian skipper will eye to win his first IPL trophy this year if the BCCI agrees to move ahead with the competition. Later this year, the Indian team will step up the ICC T20 World Cup in Australia, wherein, Virat Kohli can prove to be one of the greatest assets for his nation, winning his first ICC trophy as a captain.

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