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‘Inko firse wapas lao’ - Fans react as Indian Cricket Board official reveals how Dilip Vengsarkar chose Virat Kohli over Badrinath during his tenure as Chief Selector

Here is how fans have reacted after an Indian Cricket Board official opens up the story of Virat Kohli's selection over S Badrinath

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S Badrinath, Dilip Vengsarkar, and Virat Kohli

S Badrinath, Dilip Vengsarkar, and Virat Kohli (Image Source: Twitter)

Virat Kohli made his ODI debut back in 2008 in Sri Lanka. During that time, the former Team India player, Dilip Vengsarkar was the chief selector. So, as per quoted by PTI, an official of the Indian Cricket Board has now revealed how Vengsarkar chose Kohli over S Badrinath for that tour.

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The official said: "When Dilip Vengsarkar was chairman, he had to make a choice between Badrinath and Virat Kohli. He saw a few India A games in Australia and he knew whom to back, rest is history. He could stand his ground in front of Greg Chappell before that". After seeing that, fans shared their views on social media. 

S Badrinath played only 10 matches across all three formats for Team India

Speaking of that series, Badrinath was not initially picked. But, he got a chance as he replaced the injured Sachin Tendulkar. In the series, Kohli scored 159 runs in five innings, at an average of 31.80, including one fifty. While Badrinath scored just 39 runs in three innings, at an average of 19.50. However, earlier Vengsarkar revealed that choosing Kohli over Badrinath ended his tenure as the selector. He even accused N Srinivasan and MS Dhoni of favouring the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) player S Badrinath. Badrinath was playing for CSK at that time. 

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But, after watching Kohli score a century in an Emerging Players tournament between Australia, South Africa, New Zealand and India in 2008, he decided to include Kohli instead of Badrinath in the squad. He also revealed that did not go well with Srinivasan and called out him for not including the CSK batter. Vengsarkar said: “I said he will get his chance when he gets it. I cannot make guarantees. The next day he took Srikkanth to Sharad Pawar - the Indian Cricket Board president - and sent me home. That was the end of my career as a selector." Virat Kohli has now become one of the greatest cricketers to ever played for India irrespective of format. While Badrinath only played 10 matches for the Men in Blue across all three formats. 

Here is how fans have reacted:

 

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