“I thought it's not worth continuing” - Dilip Vengsarkar revisits pain of being dropped from ODIs during 1992 Australia tour

Indian batting legend Dilip Vengsarkar has opened up on the pain he felt after being dropped from some ODI games during the 1991-92 tour of Australia, which was his swansong in international cricket. Looking back at the tour, he stated that he was batting well, but was still given the ax.

Vengsarkar, 66, is regarded as one of the finest Indian batters to have played the game. He represented the country in 116 Tests and 129 ODIs, scoring 6868 and 3508 runs, respectively. The elegant batter’s career suffered after he fractured his hand while facing West Indies at Eden Gardens in 1988.

The former cricketer made a comeback, but could not regain his past glory. He played his last Test against Australia in Perth in February 1992. His last ODI was versus South Africa in New Delhi in November 1991.

In a chat with former India opener WV Raman on YouTube, Vengsarkar revisited the 1991-92 Australian tour. He said:

“If you see in the hindsight, of course I was doing well in the sense. But on the tour of Australia, I was dropped from the one-day matches. That was when I was the highest scorer for India and I couldn’t find a place. I could understand if India were winning but they were losing each and every match on the tour of Australia.

“Coach Abbas Ali Baig was there and he asked me what we should do. I said you are asking an interested person.”

Vengsarkar stated that he felt unlucky at being sidelined because it wasn’t a case of the team during very well in the one-day format. The Mumbai great opined:

“I mean I can understand if you are winning all the matches and then you keep me on the sidelines. I was the highest scorer in ODIs till then. So then I thought that it’s not worth continuing because I have always believed that you should play in all formats. India were playing a lot of ODIs back then and if you are playing them all, you are part of the group.”

Vengsarkar registered scores of one and four in his last Test match. He did not get to bat in what turned out to be his final ODI.

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Dilip Vengsarkar - Lord of Lord’s

Despite a disappointing end to his international career, the former cricketer will always be remembered for his batting exploits at Lord’s.

He scored three Test tons at the iconic venue in four games. Vengsarkar amassed 508 runs at Lord's at an average of 72.57 with a best of 157.