Virat Kohli will miss the final three Tests on the tour of Australia after his request for paternity leave was granted by the BCCI following a meeting of the senior selection committee on Monday.
In another major development, Rohit Sharma, who was initially excluded from all three squads, was included for the Test series. He will travel with the Indian contingent and his progress will be monitored by the team’s tour support staff.
Kohli and his actor-wife Anushka Sharma are expecting their first child in early January and the first Test is scheduled to end on December 21. With the 14-day quarantine period still in place due to Covid in most Australian states, Kohli, sources revealed, is unlikely to return on time even for the final Test in Brisbane, starting January 15.
“...Mr Virat Kohli had informed the BCCI about his plans to return to India after the first Test in Adelaide. The BCCI has granted paternity leave to the Indian captain. He will return after the first Test against Australia in Adelaide,” board secretary Jay Shah said in a press release.
The selection meeting was held in the backdrop of a controversy over Rohit’s exclusion and latest injury reports on a few players.
Among other changes, spinner Varun Chakravarthy, who has hurt his bowling shoulder, has been replaced by fellow Tamil Nadu player T Natarajan. Sanju Samson, meanwhile, has been taken as a back-up wicketkeeper for K L Rahul in ODIs while a call on the injured pacer Ishant Sharma and ’keeper Wriddhiman Saha will be taken after their rehabilitation.