Dhoni and Kirsten weren't in favour of selecting young Kohli
What's the story
Former BCCI chief selector Dilip Vengsarkar has revealed both former Indian captain MS Dhoni and head coach Gary Kirsten were not keen on giving Virat Kohli a break in 2008.
According to media reports, ahead of India's tour of Sri Lanka in 2008, the duo wanted Subramaniam Badrinath instead of Virat Kohli in the team.
Here is the reason.
Favours
'MSD, Kirsten wanted to keep Badrinath'
Vengsarkar stated that despite him bringing out Kohli's name to make his debut in the ODI series against Sri Lanka, the skipper and coach were rather interested in persisting with Subramaniam Badrinath.
Badri was a part of the Chennai Super Kings and that prompted MSD to stick with the former Tamil Nadu player.
Moreover, the duo had not heard much about Kohli.
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Why Kohli caught the eye?
After leading India to the ICC U-19 World Cup title, Kohli impressed in the emerging players tour of Australia. He smashed an unbeaten ton against the West Indies in that tour and that prompted Vengsarkar to bring up his name for selection in Indian team.
In a limbo
The CSK angle and Kohli's fine debut
According to Vengsarkar, his proposed decision to back Kohli ahead of Badrinath saw him face the ire as the BCCI replaced him as the selector.
N Srinivasan, then treasurer of BCCI, wanted Badri to be a major part of the side just like MSD.
Nonetheless, Kohli did go on to make his debut and scored 159 runs in the series that included a fifty.
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What MSD and Kohli went on to achieve
Dhoni won India the ICC World Cup in 2011 and became the country's most successful skipper in Tests and ODIs. Dhoni backed Kohli after the SL series and the latter went on to become one of the best batsmen in the world.