Argus News - Virender Sehwag Breaks Silence on Delhi’s Decision to Snub Virat Kohli in 2008 IPL Auction

New Delhi, Apr 16: Former Indian opener Virender Sehwag has revealed the reason behind Delhi Daredevils (now Delhi Capitals) not signing Virat Kohli before the inaugural season in 2008, saying they had a bunch of top-order options and needed more bowlers,

Sehwag was the captain of the side in the first season after signing for them before the first-ever auction as an 'icon player.' "So at Delhi Daredevils back in 2008, the inaugural IPL season, I remember Shikhar Dhawan was also in our team along with Tilakratne Dilshan. Both of them were openers, but we used to make them bat at three and five because Gautam and I used to open the innings. Manoj Tiwary had taken the number four spot. So we had a lot of top-order batters in the team, and it was becoming difficult to fit all of them in the batting order," Sehwag told Star Sports.

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"At that time, Virat Kohli was also batting at number three or four. So we didn't even have space to bring him in. We lacked a bowler, so we decided to go with Pradeep Sangwan instead of Kohli," he added.

After Delhi's denial, Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) signed Kohli for USD 50,000. Virat still plays for the same team and remains the only player in the history of the IPL who has played for the same team in all 19 seasons of the league so far. Kohli is the highest run-scorer in IPL history, holding over 8,840 runs across 272 matches.

Meanwhile, Sangwan played three seasons for the Delhi Daredevils. He had an average outing with the ball as the pacer picked just 29 wickets in 28 matches he played for the team. Later, he also represented Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Gujarat Lions (GL).

(IANS)