'He Was On The Verge Of Getting Dropped When Dhoni Backed Him'- Sanjay Manjrekar Recalls How MS Dhoni's Decision Saved Virat Kohli's Test Career

Indian captain Virat Kohli is currently on his fourth tour of Australia and it is a country that has played a significant role in shaping his career. Virat Kohli, who made his Test debut back in 2011, was the sole centurion in India’s disastrous Tests tour of Australia in 2011-12. Former Indian cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar rehashed the time when after the first two Tests, Kohli was on the brink of getting dropped but bounced back with telling scores.

India had the likes of Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, VVS Laxman, and MS Dhoni despite which they could not win the series in Australia. Virat Kohli, who mustered a century in Adelaide in the fourth Test in a losing cause, was the only centurion for India as they lost the series by 0-4. The present Indian captain had scores of 11 and 0 in Melbourne followed by 23 and 9 in Sydney in the first two Tests. In Perth, the right-handed batsman managed 44 and 75 and reached the three-figure score in Adelaide.

Sanjay Manjrekar claimed that Virat Kohli finds a way to score runs and the hundred in the 2011-12 series in Adelaide made him the silver lining amid the doom and gloom. The 55-year old recalled that Kohli was a youngster back then who ran the risk of getting dropped when MS Dhoni backed him. The then 23-year old repaid the faith by notable performances in Perth and Adelaide.

“Virat Kohli is Virat Kohli. He always finds ways to score runs. The hundred that he scored in the 2011/12 series, India lost it 0-4. They’d lost to England 0-4. And I think that was the only century scored by an Indian in that series. He was a young man who actually was on the verge of getting dropped after Sydney. Dhoni backed him; he played in Perth scored a 70 and then he got that hundred,” Manjrekar told Sony Sports Network.

Sanjay Manjrekar reminds of Virat Kohli in the 2014/15 series:

The former Indian batsman believes that the pitch at the Adelaide Oval is a lot similar to an Indian deck, having pace and a significant bounce. Nevertheless, since the upcoming Test in Adelaide is a pink-ball affair, that changes things drastically. But Manjrekar pointed out Virat Kohli hit four centuries when India visited Australia in 2014-15 and could make plenty of difference in the only Test he plays.

“Now at Adelaide, a lot of Indian batsmen have got runs. It’s a pitch closer to home. It’s got pace but the bouncer comes around this high (Pointing to his chest). It’s like an Indian pitch, but because it’s day/night and there’s going to be the pink ball, that changes things completely. The thing with Virat Kohli is that later, in 2014/15, he hit four hundreds,” he added.

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