If Vaughan and Gilchrist are the managers, Virat Kohli will be sold to another IPL team, while Rohit Sharma will be on the bench as a backup for MS Dhoni. Imagine an IPL team with MS Dhoni, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli in it. Three of the biggest names of Indian cricket, who have been part of the league since its inception and are now among the biggest crowd pullers for their respective franchises, all on the same team. The stuff of dreams, right? It, however, can easily become a nightmare if you are given a specific condition of playing only one among Dhoni, Rohit, and Kohli, bench one, and release one.
Former England captain Michael Vaughan and legendary Australia wicketkeeper-batter Adam Gilchrist faced this impossible scenario during a podcast with Cricket.com. But as they say, the impossible is nothing, and Vaughan appeared to be a firm believer in that.
The former England batter had no hesitation in picking Dhoni as the player. He also picked the two-time World Cup-winning Indian cricket great as the captain of his side. “I’m playing MS Dhoni. I don’t think anyone’s been better. No (Virat doesn’t find a place). MS is the captain. He’s playing,” Vaughan said.
IPL’s joint-most successful captain, along with Rohit Sharma, Chennai Super Kings legend Dhoni, is arguably one of the greatest players in the history of IPL. With 264 appearances, he is the most-capped player in the IPL and holds the record for inflicting most dismissals as a keeper (190). He hasn’t batted in the top five in the last few years and yet, remains the six-highest leading run-scorer of the league with 5243 runs at an average of 39 and a strike rate of 137. He announced his international retirement in August 2020 but continues to ply his trade in the yellow.
When Vaughan was asked to sell one between Rohit and Kohli, the former England captain took the Royal Challengers Bengaluru batter’ name.“What was the other thing? selling? I’m getting rid of Virat. I’m getting rid of him because he’s never won the IPL. Rohit is a six-time winner. MS how many? Five! So I’m playing MS, I’m selling Virat. What was the other one? Yeah, so Rohit is my MS substitute,” he said.
