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Kohli would’ve returned for last Test if not for quarantine rules: Ravi Shastri

YB WEB DESK. Dated: 11/24/2020 11:59:38 AM

New Delhi, Nov 23 Team India head coach Ravi Shastri has backed captain Virat Kohli’s decision to take paternity leave midway of the Australia tour. On November 9, as the BCCI released its updated squads for the upcoming India’s tour of Australia, it was revealed that Kohli was granted paternity leave for the birth of his first child. Kohli will fly back to India after the conclusion of the first Test match between India and Australia, in Adelaide, scheduled to start on December 17. After the Pink Ball Test, the two teams will play three more Tests and India will be without their captain. Kohli’s red-ball deputy Ajinkya Rahane could be the one taking up the captaincy duties in Kohli’s absence. “It is a once-in-a-lifetime moment [birth of first child] and I am with him,” Shastri told Sportstar. Shastri attested that had it not been for the strict quarantine rules in place in Australia, Kohli would’ve returned to Australia to play the 4th and final Test match. “He is not the one to miss a game if there was not a compelling reason. But for this bloody quarantine he would have returned for the last Test,” he added. “But it’s not easy because the quarantine process in Australia is active and very hard. To go through another 14-day period of isolation would be tough for anyone. I must tell our fans.