Wife of India skipper Virat Kohli expecting first child the same month as blockbuster Aussie tour
Aussie cricket and broadcasters will be holding their breath as the availability of India superstar Virat Kohli comes into question for the tour Down Under following the announcement of his wife’s pregnancy.
Cricket
Don't miss out on the headlines from Cricket. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Cricket superstar Virat Kohli has announced he and wife Anushka are expecting their first child in the same month as India’s blockbuster Test series against Australia.
Kohli posted an image of he and his wife on Twitter, with the message, “And then, we were three! Arriving Jan 2021.”
Social media exploded from the moment the news was announced, and immediately questions in cricket-mad India – and among Australian cricket’s desperate stakeholders – turned to what does the exciting arrival mean for Kohli’s place in the four-Test Border Gavaskar series which is underpinning the $300 million Aussie summer?
Watch every ball of Australia’s Tour of England Live & On-Demand on Kayo. New to Kayo? Get your free trial now & start streaming instantly >
MORE CRICKET NEWS
‘We’ll miss the abuse’: Aussies begin life without fans
CA stay firm as broadcast rights stand-off threatens to get ugly
Kohli is the biggest superstar in world cricket and the integral ingredient in the blossoming rivalry between the two countries that has become like a second Ashes for Australia in recent years.
It might be a little garish to speculate on what Kohli might be thinking about his summer availability … but it’s safe to say broadcasters and CA officials might already be calling every obstetrician in India, desperate to know the answer.
Will Kohli have to pull out mid tour?
Will he come at all?
And then, we were three! Arriving Jan 2021 â¤ï¸ðŸ™ pic.twitter.com/0BDSogBM1n
— Virat Kohli (@imVkohli) August 27, 2020
Will his wife give birth to an Australian baby, and a future baggy green wearer?
In all seriousness, it’s an inescapable fact that the COVID-19 pandemic makes these kind of life matters much more complicated than they were 12 months ago.
Cricketers like Shane Watson have famously flown home from overseas tours to witness the birth of their children. This used to be possible.
However, flight restrictions and quarantine measures makes it very hard to get on a plane at the drop of a hat.
Nathan Lyon watched the birth of one of his children on Skype during a tour of the UAE.
Last year, Candice Warner flew herself to England to give birth in the UK in between the World Cup and Ashes so husband David’s preparations weren’t interrupted as he made his comeback to cricket.
Could Kohli do the same?
It’s unknown whether there will be any allowance under the Federal Government’s bio-security measures for families of Indian players to travel with the team.
Cricket Australia is hoping to release a revised schedule by the end of next week, but it’s looking increasingly likely that two Test matches will have to take place in January.
The usual New Year’s Test, and then an additional one, meaning the series won’t finish until mid-January.
Broadcasters and administrators will be absolutely sweating on Kohli’s involvement this summer – as one of the world’s best batsmen and arguably world cricket’s most competitive figure.
After the disastrous impacts of COVID-19 the only thing left to go wrong would be Virat Kohli not coming to Australia.
Originally published as Wife of India skipper Virat Kohli expecting first child the same month as blockbuster Aussie tour