Reports: Virat Kohli may miss three Tests of four-match series against Australia

Team India is set to fly to Australia from Dubai soon after the conclusion of the Indian Premier League (IPL) on November 10. They are scheduled to face the team from down under in three ODIs, as many T20Is and four Test matches with the tour stretching until end of January. India are already battling several injuries with Rohit Sharma and Ishant Sharma not the part of the touring party as of now.

Meanwhile, it has been reported that the skipper Virat Kohli might also miss a large chunk of the four-match Test series due to personal reasons. He and his wife Anushka Sharma are expecting the birth of their first child in early January and the Indian captain wants to be with his family it seems.

The couple revealed the news in an Instagram post ahead of the IPL this year as even Anushka travelled with Virat Kohli to the UAE for the T20 extravaganza and stayed with the RCB team in the bio-bubble. According to the reports in Times of India, Kohli has written to the BCCI stating that he might not be available from the second Test of the four-match series.

“Virat has written to the Board that he may miss as many as three Tests due to personal reasons in January,” the BCCI source in the know of developments said.

AUS vs IND Test series to begin on December 17

As far as the itinerary of India’s tour of Australia is concerned, the three-match ODI series is set to commence on November 27. The visitors will be quarantined in Sydney and they are also allowed to train at the same time. The T20Is will be played from December 4. The limited-overs leg of the tour will be played in Sydney and Canberra.

After a couple of warm-up matches, India and Australia will lock horns in the much-awaited four-match Test series. The Virat Kohli-led side will play its first ever day-night Test away from home starting from December 17 in Adelaide while the traditional Boxing Day Test will take place in Melbourne. The last two Tests will be played from January 7 and January 15 in Sydney and Brisbane respectively.