Former BCCI selector Raja Venkat has dropped a bombshell revealing that it was MS Dhoni, who kept Rohit Sharma from getting selected in the Indian squad for the 2011 World Cup, as the then-captain wanted Piyush Chawla in the side.
Rohit Sharma, who had made his India debut in 2007 and was part of the T20 World Cup winning side that year under MS Dhoni’s captaincy, was one of the front-runners to be picked in the India squad for 2011 showpiece ICC event which India hosted with Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.
It would’ve been Rohit’s maiden appearance in the ODI World Cup, but he couldn’t break into the 15-member final squad which was picked by Kris Srikkanth-led BCCI selection panel.
And now a member of that panel, Raja Venkat has spilled the beans that it was because of MS Dhoni, that Rohit Sharma couldn’t make it into the 2011 World Cup India side.
Venkat revealed that Rohit was part of the 15-man squad selected by them and even had head coach Gary Kirsten's seal of approval. But MS Dhoni wanted Piyush Chawla in the final squad and hence vetoed the inclusion of Rohit Sharma.
"When we sat to select the team, Rohit was very much in the scheme of things. Yashpal Sharma and I were in South Africa at that time because India was touring South Africa, and the other three selectors – Srikkanth, [Surendra] Bhave, and [Narendra] Hirwani – were in Chennai. So, when we were selecting the team, numbers 1-14, every name was accepted by the panel.
No. 15, we suggested the name of Rohit Sharma. Gary Kirsten also felt it was a perfect selection. But the captain wanted Piyush Chawla. So immediately, Kirsten somersaulted. He said: 'I think that's a better choice.' So, that is how Rohit Sharma got left out," said Venkat to RevzSports.
"We didn't get a chance to talk to him, but again we were also disappointed that we couldn't select him. But when the captain and coach wanted Piyush as the 15th member, we all accepted it. Initially, we had selected the 15 which we all felt was the right one. Unfortunately, we had to make one change, and we had to give it to the captain and the coach," he added.
India went on to win the 2011 World Cup, becoming the first host side to win the tournament ever.
On the other hand, MS Dhoni is credited with changing the course of Rohit Sharma’s ODI career after he asked him to open the innings in 2013, as he had been languishing in the middle order.
