The revised list of players going to travel to Australia for the series Down Under saw Indian skipper Virat Kohli leaving after playing the first Test.
The reason for him missing out from the tournament is that the captain is expecting his first child with Bollywood actress and wife Anushka Sharma.
The news was confirmed by BCCI's press release that stated that Kohli would be back in the country and on paternity leave. "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,” the BCCI press release read.
While many supported the choice of the batsman and backed the athlete for prioritising his family, some criticised the player for choosing his family over 'national duty'.
The Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) captain was even compared to Mahendra Singh Dhoni who had chosen not to do back in 2015 while leading India in a World Cup in Australia when his wife Sakshi was expecting their first child. Ziva was born on 6th February 2015, two days ahead of India's final warm-up game against Australia.
During the time of Ziva’s birth, Dhoni was asked whether he missed being in India during his daughter’s birth, to which he replied: "Not really."
He also added: "As of now I am on national duty so I think everything else can wait. The World Cup is a very important campaign."
This is how netizens on Twitter reacted:
Upon receiving heaps of responses on his Kohli tweet in which Harsha Bhogle wrote: "Well, well…this is huge news. Kohli to return after the 1st test in Australia to be there for the birth of his child. For the modern player, there is more to life than just his profession. But for the Indian team, the tour just got tougher."
He replied, "Expectedly so many reactions to Kohli's decision. Yes, the tour will get tougher because he is a great player, but we have to respect his decision. Becoming a parent is very special."
