Vengsarkar alleges Dhoni backed CSK’s Badrinath ahead of Kohli for ODI debut in 2008

Dilip Vengsarkar has made a stunning claim that his stint as chief selector of the Board of Control for Cricket in India’s (BCCI) national selection committee in 2008 was cut short because he backed Virat Kohli back then.

Speaking to reporters during a function in Mumbai on Wednesday, the former India captain said that his backing of Kohli – who had led India to the Under-19 World Cup title – ahead of Tamil Nadu’s Subramaniam Badrinath didn’t go down well with then BCCI treasurer N Srinivasan.

Vengsarkar claimed that he wanted to hand Kohli his ODI debut during the tour of Sri Lanka that year, but then skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni and coach Gary Kirsten were not in favour, and that led to Srinivasan sacking him.

“I felt this was an ideal situation to include Kohli in the squad. Although the other four selectors agreed with my decision, Gary Kirsten and MS Dhoni were reluctant as they had not seen much of Kohli. I told them that I have seen him and we have to include him in the team,” said Vengsarkar. “I knew that they were keen on keeping S Badrinath in the team because he was a Chennai Super Kings …read more