IND vs AUS | Wanted to be back home for my first child, it's a special moment, reveals Virat Kohli
Indian skipper Virat Kohli, who will miss the last three Tests against Australia, has stated that he wanted to be back home for the birth of his first child as it's a special moment in his life. He also added that he knows Aussies will come hard but the team is completely ready for the challenge.
Australia and India will lock horns in the three-match ODI series beginning from Friday at SCG and Virat Kohli is set to play a key role in the series. The Indian skipper will be missing the last three Tests of the Border-Gavaskar trophy, however, he would be an integral part of the white-ball series that will comprise three ODIs and T20Is each, besides featuring in the day-night Test in Adelaide which will be the Test series opener starting from December 17.
Ahead of the first ODI against Australia, Indian skipper Virat Kohli opened up on missing the last three Tests against Australia on account of paternity leave and said that it was a decision made beforehand that he would fly back home to be with his wife for the birth of their first child. Kohli revealed that he wanted to be back home for the special moment.
“The decision was made before we had the selection meeting and I explained to the selectors that I’d be flying back after the first Test. And that was purely based on the fact that we have a quarantine period both ways. I wanted to be back home in time to be with my wife for the birth of our first child and it’s a very, very special and beautiful moment in our lives and something I truly want to experience. That was the reason behind my decision, which was communicated to the selectors during the selection meeting,” Kohli stated in the pre-game presser.
A few days back, Michael Clarke had opined that Kohli will need to set the tone for the Test series with a commanding white-ball series. Kohli, however, was of the opinion that last time the team did well because it remained focused and they should just do that then try and do anything out of the box.
“I don’t think there’s any extra desperation or need to think on those lines (to scar the Aussies ahead of the Tests) for us as a team at all, because we have to understand that the last time we were successful in Australia was because of a reason. We were focused on process and we were really, really strong in our mind to be able to win difficult situations and be at our best in difficult situations. And that doesn’t change," said Kohli.
The 32-year-old admitted that he expects the Aussies to come hard at the Men in Blue.
"Australia are gonna try and come at us really hard and we expect that and we are ready for that. We are ready for some tough cricket on the field and it’s something we are looking forward to, as a side, but I don’t think we are attaching any more incentive or reason to motivate our self just because it’s an opportunity to set a tone before the Test series."
Kohli further also stressed on the need to start strong and get in a great mindset so that the Men in Blue can perform well on the field.
Every series is different and the importance of starting well is purely because you’ve come to foreign conditions and you want to get confident as a team really quickly, so you can carry it forward to the other formats. And that’s something we are really looking forward to - to start strong and do the things we want to do as a side and making sure we’re all feeling good mentally.”