Former Indian opener Virender Sehwag during commentary on Monday revealed that the Indian selectors once planned to drop current Indian Test skipper Virat Kohli in 2012 during India’s tour of Australia, reported Deccan Chronicle.

Sehwag said that Kohli may never have gotten the chance to flourish in Test cricket for India, if the selectors had their way in that series. They were gearing up to drop Kohli, after a couple of poor performances in Australia, when he averaged just 10.75 runs in the first two Tests of that series.

However, vice-captain then, Sehwag and former Test skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni decided to give Kohli another chance. “The selectors wanted to play Rohit Sharma instead of Kohli at Perth in 2012,” said Sehwag. “I was vice-captain and Dhoni was leading the team, and we decided that we have to back Kohli. The rest is history.” Kohli scored 44 and 75 in the Perth Test, and later went on to score his maiden century in the Adelaide Test.