Virat Kohli heads back to India after delivering a motivational speech in the dressing room

Indian skipper Virat Kohli boarded the flight back to India from Australia as he would be missing the last three games of the four-match Test series against Australia to be with his wife Anushka Sharma during the birth of their first child. Meanwhile, before going, Kohli handed over the captaincy of the team to vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane and motivated the squad to give their best in the remaining three Tests.

India had suffered a humiliating defeat against Australia by 8 wickets in the Adelaide Test. They had also registered their lowest Test total of all time by being bundled out for 36 in the second innings. However, Kohli urged the players to forget the disastrous innings and keep showing their intent and zeal of playing the game on the pitch.

“Kohli has left Australia today morning. He had a word with the whole unit before leaving and the idea was to boost the confidence of the boys and keep them positive. He officially handed over the mantle of captaincy to Rahane and asked the team to keep showing intent and express themselves on the pitch. With Rohit Sharma set to join the squad only after the second game, Rahane’s role becomes all the more important in guiding the youngsters,” the source said as quoted by NDTV.

Rohit Sharma is completely safe in Sydney: BCCI official

Australia saw an increase in the coronavirus cases in Sydney, the place where Rohit Sharma is residing to complete his 14-day mandatory quarantine period. There were speculations that Rohit might be moved to some other safer place, however, a BCCI official clarified that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is constantly in touch with the opening batsman and he is doing absolutely fine.

“He does not need to move from Sydney. He is safe and is in a bio-secure environment undergoing quarantine. While he is alone in his room, the Indian board as well as the team management is constantly in touch with him. If there was any emergency or if we felt that he needed to get out of Sydney, we would. But for now, he is completely safe there,” the official said.

Before boarding the flight to Australia, Rohit was handed an endurance program by his physio in the National Cricket Academy (NCA). Speaking about the same, the BCCI official clarified that the Mumbai Stalwart is doing regular training in his room.

“He is being monitored by the physios and he is doing his regular endurance work in his room. It is all about keeping fit and ready for action when it comes to hitting the ground running,” the official added.