In the world of IPL, where team selections often shape careers and franchises, Virender Sehwag has revisited one of the league’s most debated decisions—Delhi Daredevils passing on Virat Kohli in 2008. Speaking to Cricbuzz, Sehwag revealed the reasoning behind what many now call a historic miss.

Back in 2008, Virat Kohli had just led India to the Under-19 World Cup title and was seen as a promising young batsman. Delhi, holding the first pick in the Under-19 draft, had the option to bring the local Delhi boy into their ranks. But the franchise, captained by Sehwag, chose left-arm pacer Pradeep Sangwan instead, prioritising their bowling strength over a batting prospect.

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Virender Sehwag defended the decision, noting that Delhi’s batting unit already featured a wealth of talent: himself, Gautam Gambhir, AB de Villiers, Shikhar Dhawan, Dinesh Karthik, Tillakaratne Dilshan, and Manoj Tiwary. With that much depth, the management focused on adding variety to the bowling lineup, and Sangwan, who had impressed in the U-19 World Cup final with figures of 5-2-14-0—seemed like the right fit.

You Are Questioning My Captaincy…: #VirenderSehwag Breaks Silence On Delhi’s #ViratKohli Snub In 2008https://t.co/ecrDVn6PKJ

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Sangwan did show promise initially, taking 15 wickets in IPL 2009, helping Delhi top the league table. However, his career never took off as expected. In 2013, a failed doping test halted his progress, and though he finished with 38 wickets in 42 IPL matches, he never broke into the Indian team.

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Meanwhile, Royal Challengers Bangalore signed Kohli for ₹12 lakh in 2008—a move that changed the franchise’s fortunes. Eighteen seasons later, Kohli is the IPL’s leading run-scorer with 8,396 runs from 261 games, including 8 centuries. In the ongoing IPL 2025 season, he’s already amassed 423 runs at an average of 47, helping RCB lead the points table with seven wins from ten matches.

In hindsight, Delhi’s choice might seem costly, but Sehwag remains firm that the decision suited their needs at the time. Still, it remains one of the biggest “what-ifs” in IPL history.