Virat Kohli call shows how times have changed

Virat Kohli missing three Tests to welcome his first born is a world away from one Aussie skipper who learned of the birth of a child on the SCG scoreboard when batting to save a match.

India's captain Virat Kolhi and his wife Anushka Sharma. The 32-year-old and his wife Anushka Sharma are expecting a baby in January

Ian Healy’s first sighting of his daughter Emma was via a black and white fax.

It was sent by a Newscorpphotographer who visited Healy’s wife Helen in hospital and dispatched the shot to Australia’s Test wicketkeeper on the 1991 West Indies tour.

Healy was ready for the news … sort of.

Merv Hughes, his roommate at the time, said: “By the way Helen rang and said she was having contractions.’’

Merv being Merv, Healy was not sure whether it was breaking news or a prank.

But it was soon confirmed and Healy was doused with champagne by his mates as the photo arrived.

Healy had the safest hands in Australian cricket but he had never been more nervous than when Helen handed him Emma at Brisbane airport.

This was the way it was in cricket for generations.

Ian Healy celebrates the birth of his daughter while on tour in the West Indies

The expectation for players on tour was to stay on tour rather than rush home as Indian captain Virat Kohli will do this summer when he returns to be with his wife for the birth of their first baby in January.

Players of previous eras were tough men. Loyalty to the dressing room was absolute. But society has changed and so has cricket.

For all the disappointment of the series losing arguably its leading man, voices decrying Kohli for abandoning the game for that precious family moment are almost entirely silent. People would love him here but our society is at a stage where the news has been met with nothing but straightforward understanding and barely a shrug of the shoulders.

Allan Border knows the old way well. His wife Jane rang him when he was in the West Indies in 1984 to say his first child was on the way and he stayed up all night waiting for the news. Later he found out he was no chance of getting it because the telephone exchange had shut down. Two weeks later he greeted son Dene at Brisbane airport.

Border was there for the birth of two of his children, Tara and Lachlan, and intended to be there for Nicole too but she arrived early as his side battled India to a draw at the SCG in 1986. Nicole’s birth was announced on the scoreboard.

David Warner celebrates on the 2019 Ashes tour with his wife Candice Warner and their daughters Indi and Ivy

Authorities today are more in touch with players’ needs than their forebears were.

Former Test star Shane Watson praised Kohli for his family-focused attitude, and recalled the twist of fate that brought him back from India for the birth of his son Will.

Watson was resigned to missing the arrival of his second child because it fell smack bang in the middle of an overseas Test series in which he was Australian vice-captain.

However, when Watson was controversially suspended in Australia’s infamous Homeworkgate fiasco in 2013, the star allrounder made the snap decision to fly home for Will’s birth — before returning to India to captain the side in the last Test when Michael Clarke was injured.

It was a turbulent time but Watson wouldn’t change it for the world.

“I feel so fortunate. I was going to miss the birth of Will because I was going to play that Test match that I got suspended for, so it’s amazing how things work out,” Watson said.

“It’s one of those special moments of your life when you can see and be there for the birth of one of your kids. And I know how Virat is as well. He’s a very family-orientated guy.

“Even if he misses a couple of games it’s not going to be the end of the world at all.”

Test spinner Nathan Lyon’s second child — daughter Milla — was also due in the middle of Australia’s 2014 series against Pakistan in the UAE.

The spin legend was still cementing his place in the side at the time and elected to stay in the UAE and watch the birth on Skype.

“It was pretty emotional and I suppose devastating is the word to describe missing something special like that, but that’s the work line that I’ve got myself into and there are some sacrifices you have to make,” Lyon said at the time.

“I was lucky enough to have the second-best thing with Skype and it was pretty emotional sitting in the hotel room at 3am watching it by myself.”

David Warner and wife Candice took the extreme measure of having their third baby in the UK in the middle of last year’s World Cup, to avoid interrupting Warner’s much-anticipated return to cricket.

“I just love being a father,” Warner said soon after little Isla’s birth.

“I’ve got a great, supportive wife, a great family base at home as well. We’ve got great support around us. The guys here have been fantastic. They’ve really got around me at this important time for my family.

“But my wife — as selfless as she is — cricket’s the priority and winning games for Australia and that’s what we’re trying to do.”