After the end of a mega IPL 2020 show in UAE, Team India is set to fly for the much-anticipated tour of Australia, which starts with a 3-match ODI series from November 27. The Virat Kohli-led team is set to leave for the Kangaroo nation this week and will undergo 14-day quarantine period in Sydney where they will be also be training for their upcoming matches.
Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Monday announced a revised squad for the ODI, T20I and Test series’ in Australia after receiving injury reports and updates from the BCCI Medical Team.
The highlight of BCCI’s latest team update for Australia tour was the absence of captain Virat Kohli from the last 3 Test matches of the 4-match series. BCCI infromed that, “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. The BCCI has granted paternity leave to the Indian captain. He will return after the first Test against Australia in Adelaide.”
Notably, Virat Kohli is expecting the birth of his first child in January 2021.
While absence of the Indian skipper can be a big blow in Team India’s quest to retain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, fans in Australia might also be disheartened. Virat Kohli’s love-hate relationship with the Australian public is not a hidden fact and his presence would have generated an interest of next level amongst the fans. But CA interim Chief Executive Nick Hockley has backed Virat Kohli’s decison to take paternity leave and said that the board always knew that the swashbuckling batsman’s unavailability was always on cards.
Further, Hockley added that CA was also exploring options to increase crowd capacities in the stadiums for the upcoming blockbuster series between the two giants of the game. He also asserted that maintaining safety will be the key.
“We’re going to give all priority to safety but we’ll continue to work with the authorities to see if we can’t increase those capacities a bit as we move forward,” he said.
