As good a player as Dilip Vengsarkar was, he is an equally good, or even better, talent identifier, for he has an eye for talent, as mentioned by a few cricketers.
As good a player as Dilip Vengsarkar was, he is an equally good, or even better, talent identifier, for he has an eye for talent, as mentioned by a few cricketers. He was among the first guys to spot Virat Kohli’s superior talent and encourage him to do big things in world cricket.
When Vengsarkar was the chairman of India’s selection committee, he spotted Virat Kohli’s hunger for runs and ability to finish the matches, and it was enough for him to provide Kohli with a long rope. Vengsarkar persisted with Kohli despite a poor IPL in 2008 and the Sri Lanka series in August 2008.
The move turned out to be a masterstroke, for Kohli went on to become one of the greatest ever to grace the game, breaking numerous records and piling on runs at will. A massive credit must go to Vengsarkar to back his instincts after seeing Kohli bat and help India get a star.
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Madhya Pradesh coach Chandrakant Pandit reveals another incident confirming Dilip’s superior game knowledge and ability to find the brightest talent going around. The coach told a story about an RCB star whose potential impressed Vengsarkar, who predicted that the player would play for India soon.
Chandrakant Pandit, the coach of Madhya Pradesh, revealed to Indian Express that Dilip Vengsarkar enquired about Rajat Patidar to him. According to Pandit, when Vengsarkar got to know about Patidar’s injury, he was despondent.
“He (Vengsarkar) saw the potential. He thought that he should be playing very soon for India. Later he was injured, and in the next match, when Dilip came again and asked me about him, he got a bit sad to know that he missed because of a niggle, he said ‘this guy should be playing for India. If I were the selector now, I would pick him.’ That’s Mr Vengsarkar for you. He has that knack to unearth the talent.”
Vengsarkar rightly spotted Patidar to do big things in future. Rajat has already made his debut for India and is part of the ongoing Test series against England.
Apart from that famous century against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) in Eliminator in 2022, Patidar has also been consistent in First-Class cricket. He might also make his Test debut in the second Test starting tomorrow.
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