Iconic former India opening batsman Virender Sehwag is keeping himself busy, doing bold commentary and taking on various issues through his unique approach on Twitter. He has carved out a niche of his own with this stuff. In his latest commentary stint and tweets, a huge amount of curiosity was generated in the cricketing fraternity. And it all had to do with ‘run machine’ Virat Kohli. Viru made these comments during the ongoing third Test at Mohali between India and England.
Viru explained as to how a young and talented Virat Kohli, having made a mark in the shorter formats of the game, cast his influence in the longer format after being given a chance ahead of Rohit Sharma in the Perth Test against Australia during India’s 2012 tour, where he scored 75 & 44. Then, in the very next Test in Adelaide, he registered his maiden ton – a magnificent knock of 116 runs defining sheer patience when the entire team struggled to find runs! However, before the Perth Test, Virat wasn’t amongst runs in Tests and was dropped from the Test side!
Sehwag has revealed how former Test captain and present ODI & T20 captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni played a big role in saving Virat Kohli’s Test career. A nostalgic Virender Sehwag said, “The selectors wanted to play Rohit Sharma instead of Kohli at Perth in 2012. I was vice-captain and Dhoni was leading the team, and we decided that we have to back Kohli. The rest is history.”
Clearly, it would have been virtually impossible for Kohli to make a comeback into Team India if he was dropped! However, post that Dhoni decision, the rest is ‘history’! Nawab of Najafgarh, thank you for sharing this info!
However, considering that Rohit has not done so well in Tests thereafter, could this well have been a defining moment for him too? Perhaps, if he had got the Dhoni vote of confidence, he would have emerged as good a Test batsman as he is in the shorter formats!
