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Former selector Raja Venkat has now made a sensational revelation about ‘Hitman’ Rohit Sharma being left out of the Indian squad for the 2011 World Cup. Venkat says that Rohit was not selected in the World Cup team because of the then captain MS Dhoni. Venkat claimed that Dhoni wanted spinner Piyush Chawla in the team, which led to Rohit being dropped. Let us tell you that Venkat Krishnamachari was part of the selection panel headed by Srikanth, which selected Team India for the 2011 World Cup.
Venkat told RevSports that the panel had unanimously selected Rohit but later changed its mind. In fact, Venkat was asked why Rohit was dropped by your selection panel a month before the 2011 World Cup. Prior to this he was a regular member of the ODI team for three years. How difficult was that decision?
Responding to this question, Venkatan said, “When we sat down to select the team, Rohit was in the plan. Yashpal Sharma and I were in South Africa at the time as the Indian team was touring South Africa and the other three selectors – Srikanth, Surendra Bhave and Narendra Hirwani – were in Chennai. When we were selecting the team, each player’s name from 1 to 14 was accepted by the panel. At number 15 we suggested Rohit’s name. Even Gary Kirsten (then coach) felt he was the perfect choice. But when the captain wanted to keep Piyush Chawla in the team, Kirsten immediately backtracked. He said, ‘I think this is a better option.’ So in this way Rohit Sharma had to get out.
At the same time when Venkat was asked how much consultation did you have with Dhoni and Kirsten? On this the former selector said, “Look, as I told you, initially we picked 15 players that we all felt were right. But unfortunately we had to make a change.” Chawla played only three matches in the World Cup and took four wickets. Let us tell you that under the leadership of Dhoni, the Indian team created history by winning the 2011 World Cup. India won the second ODI World Cup after 28 years. India defeated Sri Lanka by 6 wickets in the final.