'Virat Kohli Was Just 'Another Batsman' For Delhi Daredevils In IPL 2008 Auction'

Virat Kohli grew up the ranks since his U-19 days to become the finest batsman of current generation. However, after leading India to the U-19 triumph, Virat Kohli was not valued as much as he is today. As a result, the erstwhile Delhi Daredevils (now Delhi Capitals) did not pick up the local boy Virat Kohli in the IPL 2008 auction.

Delhi Daredevils did not pick up Virat Kohli because they already had plenty of batters in their ranks. The capital franchise in the inaugural fixture had picked up Virender Sehwag and AB de Villiers, who at that time, had much bigger value than Kohli. It is, thus, that the franchise did not opt for an extra batsman.

Pradeep Sangwan was picked up instead of Virat Kohli: IPL COO Sundar Raman

IPL Chief Operating Officer Sundar Raman was in conversation with Gaurav Kapoor in the 22 Yarns podcast. It is during this podcast that he revealed that Sangwan was favoured over Kohli as Delhi Daredevils already had plenty of batsmen in their ranks and were right in their thinking. It was then that RCB got hold of Kohli and the rest is history.

“Interestingly, that was also the year India had won the U-19 World Cup, just a month before the auction. They were captained by Virat Kohli and we decided to keep a separate draft for the U-19 players a few days after the auction. Surprise, surprise! Virat Kohli was not the first player to be picked in the draft,” Former IPL COO Sundar Raman told Gaurav Kapoor in a podcast .

“Delhi passed on him, actually, and picked Pradeep Sangwan instead, because they said they didn’t need another batsman. And they didn’t actually, they had Virender Sehwag and AB de Villiers. They were right in their thinking, but RCB picked him up and the rest, as they say, is history,” he added.

Although Kohli has not helped RCB clinch the IPL title, he is the integral part of the franchise, and the most valuable player. He has scored 5412 runs in the lucrative tournament at an average nearly 38.