Steve Smith credits Virat Kohli taking paternity leave for the birth of his child

Virat Kohli scored a fifty in the Adelaide Pink Ball Test against Australia but it was a sad end for him and for the Indian cricket team. India were bowled out for 36 by a superb Australian bowling attack and the Australian cricket team lead the four-Test series 1-0. However, the Indian cricket team’s woes have been compounded with Virat Kohli now been unavailable for the remaining three Tests as he will be on paternity leave. Virat Kohli and Anushka Sharma are expected to be parents in January 2021 and the Indian skipper has gone back to India to be with his wife.

However, when Virat Kohli decided to take a paternity leave, the decision aroused mixed reactions. While some praised Virat Kohli, the fair majority of Indian cricket fans did not support the idea of Virat Kohli abandoning the tour for the birth of his first child. Some compared MS Dhoni’s situation in 2015 in which he could not see his new-born daughter Ziva during the World Cup.

However, Steve Smith has hailed the decision of Virat Kohli and revealed what was said to him when the Adelaide Test was over. “I just fist pump in the end and said safe travel and hope everything goes well with the baby. It is a big loss for him and India, not having him for the rest of the series. You have to look at the way he played in first innings, was a pretty class display on good bowling. Wicket was doing a bit and I had said it before and will say it again, credit to him to stand up and say I wanna go home for the birth of his first child. I am sure there would have been pressure on him to stay but credit to him,” Steve Smith said in the virtual press conference.

MCG’s record boosts Smith

Steve Smith has been playing the Boxing Test in Melbourne for the last 10 years. Steve Smith has scored 908 runs at an average of 113.5 with four centuries and three fifties. His highest of 192 came in the 2014 Boxing Day Test, the match remembered for being the final Test of MS Dhoni’s playing career.

Steve Smith recounted his experience of playing in the MCG. “Yeah, ten years it is quite hard to believe. Look it`s been since then, I have grown as a player over that time. My Boxing Day record is probably the best in Australia among all grounds. I like batting at MCG. On a big occasion, I like to try and make most of them. You get shivers down the spine when walk out to bat at boxing day, the crowd yelling. It is like a dream come true. Because as a kid I always wanted to play in boxing day Test match,” Steve Smith said.