Many years after his retirement, Dilip Vengsarkar made arguably his biggest contribution to Indian cricket, selecting Virat Kohli straight from Under-19 cricket to represent India, a call for which he even lost his chief selector's job as the BCCI officials at the time wanted Subramaniam Badrinath to get the nod.

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12 years down the line, Kohli has established himself as a batting legend and is leading India in all three formats.

Recalling his decision, Vengsarkar recently said he always knew Virat had exceptional talent and needed to be backed to the hilt.

"Selecting talent was my forte. I will tell you something. You might be good at spotting talent but what you do after spotting is very important. If someone is talented, you have to induct him and give him chances," he told PTI in an exclusive interview.

"I have watched a lot of U-16 and U-19s as TRDW chairman and watched Virat a lot during his junior cricket days. So when I became chairman of the selection committee, we picked him for an Emerging Tour of Australia. I was there and when I saw him bat, I knew he is ready for big-time cricket," he added.

Asked if he was convinced that Kohli who would play 15 years for India, Vengsarkar gave an interesting reply.

"You can never be sure whether someone will go on to play that long. What I saw was an exceptional talent and if you have an eye, you would know which players are more likely to succeed at the highest level.

"You need to have something extra. Virat had that," the 64-year-old said.

"...every selector must have courage and conviction along with an eye for talent. If you are convinced about someone, you have to back him to the hilt. That's what good selectors do," he further remarked.

During that period, Kohli often used to grab headlines for his misconduct and brash attitude. So, was there any pressure on him to not select the Delhi lad?

"I don't think anybody pressurised me. I was convinced that I had picked a guy who had exceptional talent at that point in time. I knew he was a tremendous player who needed backing," Vengsarkar said.

He also revealed the story behind former India skipper MS Dhoni’s discovery. Despite passing the qualifying age of 19 years or below, Dhoni was inducted into the TRDW scheme. It was Vengsarkar, on former Bengal captain Prakash Poddar’s insistence, decided that rules shouldn't come in the way of a talented player.

"Once Mr Dalmiya lost elections, they discontinued the TRDW thing. Extremely unfortunate as players who were spotted and sent to NCA became big stars."

"In fact, the players I selected then gave me an idea of bench strength when I became head of selection committee. That's how useful TRDW was."

Vengsarkar is not happy that from a Centre of Excellence, NCA has now turned into a rehab facility for injured cricketers.

"NCA at that point of time was doing well, now it has become a rehab centre. I loved my time as chairman of NCA because Mr Dalmiya gave me a free hand," he said.

"All those players whom I spotted there grew in stature. That gives me immense pride and a sense of satisfaction."

(With PTI inputs)