Former Indian skipper, Dilip Vengsarkar can be termed as the best chairman of selectors for the country for his sheer ability to spot talent. He always knew that the current Indian skipper, Virat Kohli was “exceptional” when he first saw the latter in age-group cricket. Dilip’s tenure as a chief selector between 2006-08 is often cited as a benchmark for all those who came after him as he backed a very raw Kohli and handing over the reins to MS Dhoni.
During a recent interview with PTI, Vengsarksar said, “Selecting talent was my forte. 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 reckons that he managed to do justice as the chief selector. Dilip Vengsarkar Always Knew Virat Kohli Has Something Special because of the time he spent as head of BCCI’s now-defunct Talent Research Development Wing (TRDW) which found the gem called Dhoni. When talking about Kohli, he had immense pride in his voice as he was the one who picked the feisty batsman.
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Describing the selection of Virat, Dilip Vengsarkar said, “I have watched a lot of U-16 and U-19s as TRDW chairman and watched Virat a lot during his junior cricket days. I was there and when I saw him bat, I knew he is ready for big-time cricket. 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. You need to have something extra. Virat had that.”
There is a funny story about how MS Dhoni, who was 21 at that time, was inducted into the TRDW scheme despite the policy of having only U-19 players. It was on the insistence of former Bengal captain Prakash Poddar during a match where Bihar (not Jharkhand) was playing a Ranji One Day game. A few balls flew into the playing arena outside the stadium which made Poddar curious and he went inquiring as to who was hitting it this far.
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The name was MS Dhoni but he had already passed the qualifying age for TRDW. But Vengsarkar, on Poddar’s insistence, decided that include the played. He has immense respect for the late Jagmohan Dalmiya, who started the TRDW scheme which became defunct after he lost the elections.
