"I was the one to pick Virat Kohli and Ishant Sharma for Delhi," says Atul Wassan

The former Indian cricketer, Atul Wassan revealed that he fought with the Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA) administrators and selectors to select Virat Kohli and Ishant Sharma for Delhi.

While Virat Kohli is the finest batsmen across all formats, Ishant Sharma is one of their key bowlers in the longest format of the game. Wassan said that the selectors kept ignoring their performances at the club and school level tournaments.

"You know, Virat came from my academy. He first came to us when he was 11. I have seen him develop in his junior cricket days. I was the one who picked him and Ishant (Sharma) to play for Delhi," the former Indian cricketer, Atul Wassan told Khaleej Times.

"The Delhi management wasn't keen to pick them because they were playing for India U19. But I fought for them and both made their Ranji debut in the same match. And the rest is history," he continued.

He also said that the Indian skipper Kohli has an ability to manage everything and wants to win every game.

"His(Virat's) coach Raj Kumar Sharma is my very good friend. In fact, we started the academy together. So we spoke to Virat about his issues and he listened to us, you know. After that, his focus has been amazing. Sometimes people think he is too aggressive on the field. But actually, he is just genuinely confident about his ability to manage everything. He wants to win every time he steps on the field." Wassan added.

The Indian skipper, Virat Kohli, and Ishant Sharma were in good form in the recently concluded test series against England. While Kohli scored 593 runs, Ishant bagged 18 wickets in the five-match Test series.

"I just sent him a message that it's the best I have seen him bowl. Last year I was the chairman of selectors for Delhi and he was available for us," Wassan said.

"These days he is playing only Test matches. He is not getting picked for IPL which is a big blow, But Ishant took it in his stride and you can see that in the way he is bowling now. You know you can't play 80-85 Test matches for India if you are not good!," he concluded.