On Monday, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) went on to confirm that the Indian skipper, Virat Kohli has been granted paternity leave as he will be returning from Team India’s upcoming tour of Australia after the first Test. The BCCI in an official release confirmed that Kohli had given prior information to the board about his plans to return home for the birth of his first child.
In teh latest press release, BCCI 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. The BCCI has granted paternity leave to the Indian captain. He will return after the first Test against Australia in Adelaide.”
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BCCI also confirmed the changes made in all the three squads across formats owing to the injury situation of several players, who have been participating in the ongoing Indian Premier League in the UAE. Rohit Sharma has now been included in teh Test squad, who was nursing a hamstring injury in the IPL. Rohit has since returned to action in the IPL for Mumbai Indians and is expected to lead the team in the final on Tuesday.
Clarifying about Rohit, BCCI in its press release said, “The BCCI Medical Team has been monitoring Rohit Sharma’s fitness and has briefed All-India Senior Selection Committee on the same. In consultation with Mr Sharma, it has been decided to rest him for the ODIs and T20Is in Australia to regain full fitness and he has been included in India’s Test squad for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.”
India will play 3 ODIs, 3 T20Is, 2 practice matches, and 4-match Test series in a tour that will go on for over a month and a half. The first ODI will be played on November 27th.
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This is India’s first bilateral series since international cricket was halted due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Kohli and his wife, Hindi film actress Anushka Sharma, had announced their pregnancy in August earlier this year with respective social media posts.
Team India Test squad: Virat Kohli (Captain), Rohit Sharma, Mayank Agarwal, Prithvi Shaw, KL Rahul, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane (vice-captain), Hanuma Vihari, Shubman Gill, Wriddhiman Saha (wicket-keeper), Rishabh Pant (wicket-keeper), Jasprit Bumrah, Mohd. Shami, Umesh Yadav, Navdeep Saini, Kuldeep Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, R. Ashwin, Mohd. Siraj.
