'Pass on my best to your wife' - Steve Smith reveals his message to Virat Kohli after Adelaide Test

Throwing his support behind Virat Kohli, Australia batting star Steve Smith has said the India skipper deserves credit for prioritizing the birth of his child over cricket. Smith reckoned that “there would have been a lot of pressure” on Kohli to stay for the entire duration of the ongoing Test series. The 32-year old will miss the remainder of the series to attend the birth of his child.

Anushka Sharma is due to give birth in early January and Kohli will head home from Australia on Tuesday (December 22). The 32-year old’s decision has been widely praised but few have also criticized it. A section of the fans was unhappy with Kohli’s decision of missing three Tests of such an important series.

Former Australia skipper Steve Waugh was also surprised with Kohli’s decision and had said he was disappointed with it. But amidst the debate over Kohli’s paternity leave, Smith has made it clear that he fully supports the India star’s decision. At the same time, Smith also admitted that missing Kohli would be a big loss for India.

“Obviously, it’s a big loss for India, not having him for the rest of the series. We just have to look at the way he played in the first innings. That was a pretty class display against some good bowling on a wicket that was doing a bit,” Smith told reporters during a virtual press conference facilitated by the series’ official broadcaster Sony Network.

“I just fist-pumped him at the end (of first Test) and said ‘Mate safe travels, hope everything goes well with the baby, and pass on my best to your wife.’ That was about it. I’m sure there would have been a lot of pressure for him to stay but to stand up and want to go home for for the birth of his first child, it’s a credit for him. It’s a milestone that he certainly wouldn’t want to miss,” he added.

Steve Smith supports red-ball cricket

Steve Smith also gave his opinion on the red ball vs pink ball debate. Recently, spin legend Shane Warne had said that the red ball is “pathetic” and pink ball should replace it in all Tests. Smith, however, disagreed with the idea and showed his support for red-ball cricket.

“Personally I’d like to keep red-ball cricket alive. I think one series or something like that is a good amount. We’ve seen in Adelaide for instance it’s worked exceptionally well, it’s a great spectacle. We played some really good day/night games. But I think overall, I’d like to personally play red ball cricket a lot,” Steve Smith said.

Meanwhile, Australia are leading the four-match series after winning the first Test by eight wickets. The second game of the series will start on December 26 at the MCG. In Kohli’s absence, Ajinkya Rahane will lead India.