Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has confirmed that the Team India captain and batting mainstay Virat Kohli will not feature in the last three Test matches against Australia in December. He will return home after playing the first Test match under a light in Adelaide. The skipper has taken paternity leave as he is expecting the birth of his first child in January.

Team India will land in Australia on November 12 after the IPL 2020 ends. Both the teams will play the series across all the formats. The tour will inaugurate with the three-match ODI series on November 27. Following this, they will play the three-match T20I series while the Test series will begin from December 17 and the last Test will be played on January 15.

Virat Kohli on paternity leave: BCCI

Virat Kohli will be with the team in limited over leg but will leave for India after playing the first Test. As in January, his wife Anushka Sharma is expecting first childbirth, Kohli has decided to not play in the last three matches.

“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,” BCCI added.

Virat Kohli is a huge contributor for Team India, missing him in the crucial series is a huge setback. In 12 Tests against Australia, so far, he has amassed 1,274 runs at an average of more than 55 with the help of six hundreds and three fifties. With the Men in Blue eyeing to retain the trophy, his absence is surely going to hurt the team.

Meanwhile, in his absence, Ajinkya Rahane is likely to lead the Test team.