Virat Kohli’s baby and Boxing Day at the MCG creating uncertainty for Cricket Australia’s pandemic planning
Cricket Australia will give the MCG as long as possible to prove its fitness for Boxing Day amidst COVID-19 uncertainty. And it won’t be pressing Virat Kohli about his baby plans any time soon either.
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Australia has sent its best wishes to Virat Kohli for the arrival of his new baby, but has accepted that now is not the time to ask about what his work commitments for the summer might look like.
Kohli took a private jet from India to Dubai for the IPL and could make a mercy dash back home quicker than most in the COVID-19 era, but mystery over Bollywood star wife Anushka’s impending delivery is one extra unknown keeping broadcasters and administrators lying awake at night.
In between Kohli announcing he and his wife are expecting their first child in January, and a brewing war over the value of the BBL, Cricket Australia’s other great stress is whether they will be able to deliver a Boxing Day Test at the MCG.
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News Corp understands the MCG will drop their pitches into the sacred turf in early November in the hope Melbourne can emerge from its COVID-19 hell in time for the biggest day on the cricket calendar.
It might seem like wishful thinking, but Cricket Australia is adamant it will give Melbourne as late as possible to prove itself fit for Boxing Day.
Broadcasters say they would need six to 10 weeks’ notice if the Boxing Day Test was moving to Adelaide Oval – which means they’d need to know by late October or early November.
The AFL’s decision to move its grand final from the MCG to the Gabba has been made seven weeks out from the decider.
CA won’t specify on a hard deadline, but chief executive Nick Hockley says Melbourne will be given as much time as possible.
“We’re just planning as though it’s all happening in Melbourne at the moment at the MCG,” Hockley told News Corp.
“It’s months away. We’ve been very focused on the England tour, and can’t wait to see the team get started in a couple of days and then we’ve got the women’s international series starting up.
“At the moment it’s full steam ahead planning for Boxing Day. Any decision on that is months away.”
The MCG’s basic understanding of the state of play is that if the Victorian Government is allowing any form of socially distanced crowd by the time the decision is made – Boxing Day will be theirs.
Given the size of the coliseum, the MCG would still be capable of getting 20,000-30,000 people through the gate and keep patrons safely separated.
But if there are still no public gatherings being permitted by Victorian health, then MCG officials accept the marquee match will have to be moved, almost certainly to Adelaide.
A Boxing Day Test away from the MCG would not be ideal, but nothing could match the disaster of Indian superstar Virat Kohli not being there for it.
An Indian newspaper has reported that Kohli is expected to tour Australia, but there are no guarantees he will be able to stay for the entirety of a Test series that is set to run to mid-January.
Last time India toured Australia, Rohit Sharma flew home before the fourth Test in Sydney for the birth of his child.
It’s an Indian tradition for women to be with their own mothers when giving birth, so the chances of Kohli replicating Candice and David Warner’s efforts welcoming their third baby girl while on tour in the UK last year seems unlikely.
Cricket Australia won’t be pressing Kohli for a due date.
“We’ve passed on our congratulations, we’re delighted for them. But nothing beyond that,” said Hockley.
“We haven’t discussed any specifics.”
Kohli says he enjoyed the COVID-19 lockdown and the time it brought him with his wife.
“Just being in your own home with the one you love, you couldn’t ask for anything better,” he said.
“We just made the most of the whole time.”
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Originally published as Virat Kohli’s baby and Boxing Day at the MCG creating uncertainty for Cricket Australia’s pandemic planning