Dilip Vengsarkar navigated some tricky times during his tenure as chief selector. Long before that, after a storied career with the bat, he had set about helping the board put in place a robust system for identifying young talent. A certain Virat Kohli was one of the beneficiaries. In this exclusive chat with Boria Majumdar, RevSportz’s editor-in-chief, Vengsarkar looks back at his first impressions of a young Kohli and the hunger that made him special.
Boria: When you first saw Virat, how did you identify that this guy was special? What made you introduce him to the international circuit?
Dilip Vengsarkar: Basically, his attitude towards the game. He was called for the Emerging Players Tournament in Australia and was asked to open. He wasn’t an opener back then and he was asked to open against New Zealand. He was 19 years old and scored a superb hundred, but what was important for me was after scoring the 100, he went ahead to win the match for me. He stood up till the last run was scored. It was impressive for me and I suggested his name for the Indian team.
A few samples of how Virat Kohli’s press conferences, when he was India captain, used to be reporters’ delight.@shamik100 writes.@imVkohli #ViratKohli #ViratKohli #ViratKohliretirement https://t.co/yHyN0eTYjE
— RevSportz Global (@RevSportzGlobal) May 13, 2025
Boria: You always take these bold calls as selector, but did you imagine that he would come even close to this far and become one of the all-time greats?
Vengsarkar: It is very difficult to say because you just see the potential, the mental makeup basically of a player and then will pick him because he was impressive. But it’s up to the player on how long he goes on. It depends on a lot of other factors and not just their skills. He (Virat) has worked on his fitness, maintained excellent discipline throughout his cricketing career and he was hungry for success all the time.
Boria: How do you see this team sans Rohit(Sharma) and Virat? What’s the way forward? What’s your advice?
Vengsarkar: It is unfortunate that these two players won’t be there as they have the experience and the talent needed. Now, we should look for the players who have been impressive in their domestic performances as well as in India A team. It is an opportunity for them to grab and establish themselves in international cricket.
EXCLUSIVE
“His attitude towards the game.” – what made #DilipVengsarkar select a young #ViratKohli for the national side.
“Make #Bumrah the skipper and groom #Gill” – for the England tour.@ThumsUpOfficial @BoriaMajumdar #ENGvsIND #ViratKohli #ViratKohliretirement pic.twitter.com/0YOfHruh8I
— RevSportz Global (@RevSportzGlobal) May 13, 2025
Boria: Anyone in your mind who has impressed you?
Vengsarkar: There are quite a few but I have not watched too much of domestic cricket of late, so it’s up to (Ajit) Agarkar and company.
Boria: With Shubman Gill being the frontrunner for captaincy, what is your opinion on that being an accomplished captain and a leader, selector yourself? How difficult do you think it is going to be to lead such an inexperienced side?
Vengsarkar: Definitely very tough but I think {Jasprit) Bumrah can also lead the side if he is totally fit and if he can last five Test matches. I would pick him as a captain because he has done extremely well at international level. And about Shubman, I would groom him on this tour.
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