Virat Kohli: 'Family First' as He Goes on Paternity Leave

Cricket is one of the sports that are lucky enough to still be able to push through this pandemic. The IPL was able to return this year and so is the Big Bash League. This is all thanks to the bio-secure bubble that enables sports to continue and allows players to get into it without any risks.

India remains to be the biggest fans of cricket and surely, the return of test matches is an exciting time for them despite the pandemic. It's just hard for them to miss the best cricket matches in the world as they are big fans of cricket tournaments.

Recently announced as India's Captain Virat Kohli's approved paternity leave as his actress wife, Anushka Sharma, is pregnant with their first child. This will take place through the Australia Series, according to the Board of Control for Cricket in India or BCCI.

The BCCI statement said, "At the selection committee meeting held on October 26th, 2020, Mr. Virat Kohli had informed the BCCI about his plans to return to India after the first Test in Adelaide."

Jay Shah, the BCCI secretary said, "The BCCI has granted paternity leave to the Indian captain. He will return after the first Test."

Kohli and the rest of the India team will be touring from Dubai to Sydney on a charter flight. They will be sharing this with Australia's Indian Premier League stars. Kohli will have six more limited-overs in Australia before he goes on paternity leave. Actress Anushka Sharma will be giving birth in early January.

Even before the paternity leave, Kohli has already been considering going home because he has been concerned about how the bubble life has been affecting him and the players. He was one of the hopefuls that the length of tours should be considered since there is a pandemic.

Kohli said It does get difficult at times because it is repetitive. Mentally, it can be taxing if this continues for this long a period at a consistent rate. It has to be broken down, it has to be based on how the individuals are feeling and I think that conversation should take place regularly.

"You want the players to be in the best state, mentally and physically." According to him. However, many diehard fans appear to be having a hard time understanding this. They are saying that Kohli and the others should be putting their country first.

With Kohli gone, Ajinkya Rahane may take the lead in the last three Tests for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.

The national selectors also said that Rohit Sharma will be part of the Test squad. However, he is not included in the ODI and T20i series that will start this month. Sharma was taken away from all three formats when he suffered a hamstring injury in the IPL.

Secretary Shah also talked about this and said, "In consultation with Mr. Sharma, it has been decided to rest him for the ODIs and T20Is to regain full fitness and he has been included in India's Test squad." Shah said that Sharma will be added to the Test Squad once he fully recovers and gains sufficient match fitness. Sharma is still undergoing rehab for an abdominal muscle tear.

Another injured player is Wriddhiman Saha. Saha had a hamstring tear and this was confirmed by the SRH captain, David Warner. This happened during Sunrisers Hyderabad's IPL game on November 3. Secretary Shah said that Saha will be a doubtful started for the Test series and whether he will be available on the upcoming series will be decided on later.

The selectors also announced that KL Rahul will be the lone wicketkeeper for the three ODIs. They also added Sanju Samson to the ODI squad in addition to the T20is. Samson will be in line to make his ODI debut if he will be selected or will be playing the XI. Meanwhile, Kamlesh Nagarkoti who is named as the back-up bowler has already withdrawn from the matches to be able to manage his workload.

Spinner Varun Chakravarthy has also been ruled out because of a shoulder injury that he also got during the IPL. He has been replaced by Thangarasu Natarajan. Kamlesh Nagarkoti will be a reserve player. The BCCI said that Nagarkoti will be working with the medical team for his bowling workload management.

The opening Test in Adelaide will start on December 17 and it will be the first day/night Test overseas.