Young Kohli aims to make lucky break count

Mumbai: India’s under-19 World Cup winning captain Virat Kohli seems to be as surprised to get a berth in the Indian One-Day team as any body else even though his performance during the Emerging Players Tournament in Australia had been praised by chief selector Dilip Vengsarkar, who followed the India-A team’s progress very closely.

"I am pleasantly surprised with my selection even though I thought I had an outside chance of making it to the One-Day team after my performance in the Emerging Players Tournament in Australia that too in front of chief selector Dilip Vengsarkar," Kohli told Cricketnext on Thursday.

After his return from Australia, Vengsarkar had said that many of the India-A players had impressed him during the Emerging Players Tournament in an exclusive interview to cricketnext. The chief selector had mentioned that the selectors would discuss at length about them during the selection committee meeting and had also stressed the need for a strong second string team to back the aging seniors in India.

"Vengsarkar’s presence perhaps worked as a motivating factor for me as I did really well despite a not so impressive performance in the Indian Premier League (IPL) before that," the young Delhi lad said.

"It was a feeling of fulfillment as the chief selector was watching me the whole while and assessing my game. It gave me an extra push to perform to my highest caliber since all of us knew we were being watched by him," he added.

Agreeing that a strong second string would be an asset to any nation in any sport, Kohli said, all the players who went to Australia have come back as better players.

"See, it always helps when a youngster is being watched by the chairman of selectors. In the past, not much importance was given to India-A teams (no selector went abroad to watch), in today’s scenario it helps a lot as the game has changed by leaps and bounds and the back up team has to be very strong," he points out.

"Most of the boys who made it to Australia were playing there for the very first time and the experience we gained really boosted our morale despite our young age. I would like to believe that we have surely come back as better players and stronger individuals," he added.

"After making it to the Indian team now, I want to establish myself with big scores and help my team win as many matches as possible," he declared.

More Headlines from News

• SA's dubious quota selection policy to end

• Under-fire Prior wants to return to India

• Pujara strong contender for Test spot

• Ponting pays in Warne's absence, in dollars

• ICC President slams Boycott, wants England to go