Kirsten had Rohit in India's 2011 ODI WC plans but Dhoni wanted...: Ex-BCCI selector makes big revelation

Rohit Sharma-led India are set to feature in the forthcoming Asia Cup, which kicks off on August 30 in Multan, Pakistan. The Men in Blue will open their campaign versus arch-rivals Pakistan on September 2 in Pallekele, Sri Lanka as the continental tournament will be jointly hosted by Sri Lanka and Pakistan. The forthcoming competition will be held in the 50-over format as it will be an ideal dress rehearsal for the upcoming home ODI World Cup, which commences on October 05 in India.

As India have been without an ICC title since 2013, when they won the Champions Trophy under MS Dhoni, Rohit & Co. have a challengingfew months, with the Asia Cup and ODI WC. Rohit will be eager to become the third Indian captain to lift the 50-over mega title after Kapil Dev and Dhoni. Under Dhoni, India won the 2011 edition -- co-hosted by India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka -- where Rohit wasn't part of the squad.

Raja Venkat, one of the members of the BCCI selection panel headed by Kris Srikkanth in 2011, has now revealed the reason behind Hitman's omission.

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'Gary Kirsten felt it was a perfect selection but MS Dhoni wanted Piyush Chawla'

"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," Venkat recently told RevSportz during a freewheeling chat.

Venkat added, "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.".

Back in 2011, India won the championship by beating teams such as Australia, Pakistan, West Indies and Sri Lanka -- in the final -- to win the title after 28 years. As Rohit missed out on being part of India's victorious run in 2011, he will be desperate to lead his side to the championship this time around in the October-November competition. The home side will kick off their campaign against five-time winners Australia on October 08 in Chennai.

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