INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
New Delhi: India captain Virat Kohli was on Monday granted paternity leave by the BCCI after the first Test against Australia next month,
while his limited-overs' deputy Rohit Sharma was added to the red-ball squad after being initially left out due to a hamstring injury.Kohli
will miss three Test matches in Australia to be with his actor wife Anushka Sharma as the couple welcomes its first child in early
The BCCI has granted paternity leave to the Indian captain
He will return after the first Test against Australia in Adelaide," Board secretary Jay Shah stated in a press release.The
centrally-contracted players are eligible for paternity leave and Rohit had availed it during the 2018 tour of Australia.India's tour of
Australia comprises three ODIs, as many T20 Internationals and four Tests
The series begins November 27
(January 7-11) and the final game at the Gabba (January 15-19).Cricket Australia, which is already facing a lot of heat from the
broadcasters Seven Network, would be worried as the Indian captain is a massive draw and his absence could severely impact the advertisement
market.Shah also gave an update on Rohit's fitness and said he will miss the ODI and T20 series."The BCCI Medical Team has been monitoring
Rohit Sharma's fitness and has briefed All-India Senior Selection Committee on the same
In consultation with Sharma, it has been decided to rest him for the ODIs and T20Is in Australia to regain full fitness and he has been
undergo his rehab along with pacer Ishant Sharma
He separately board a flight in the last week of November.The BCCI also informed that Ishant will be added to the Test squad subject to
fitness"The senior Indian fast bowler (Ishant) has been undergoing his rehab at the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru
Once he fully recovers and gains sufficient match fitness, he will be added to India's Test squad," Shah stated
has been ruled out of the T20I series owing to a shoulder injury
The selectors have named T Natarajan as a replacement," the BCCI release stated.Chakravarthy didn't intimate the BCCI that he had a labrum
tear and continued playing for Kolkata Knight Riders
He will now have to go for a surgery.It is learnt that hiding injury in his very first national call-up hasn't gone down well either with
the BCCI's medical team or with the national selection committee.The committee, it is learnt, will have a serious rethink about including
However, Kamlesh Nagarkoti will not go to Australia as BCCI will monitor his workload at the NCA.Sanju Samson, who was earlier only included
in the T20 squad, has been added to the ODI line-up as an additional keeper.However, there was some bad news for Wriddhiman Saha, who has
now injured both his right and left hamstring."The senior Indian wicket-keeper sustained injuries to both his hamstrings during his side's
will travel to Australia on Wednesday with the rest of the squad or come back to India and do his extensive rehabilitation at the National
The revised squads are as below:T20I squad: Virat Kohli (Captain), Shikhar Dhawan, Mayank Agarwal, KL Rahul (vice-captain and
wicket-keeper), Shreyas Iyer, Manish Pandey, Hardik Pandya, Sanju Samson (wicket-keeper), Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, Yuzvendra
Chahal, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohd
wicket-keeper), Shreyas Iyer, Manish Pandey, Hardik Pandya, Mayank Agarwal, Ravindra Jadeja, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit
Shami, Navdeep Saini, Shardul Thakur, Sanju Samson (wicket-keeper).Test squad: Virat Kohli (Captain), Rohit Sharma, Mayank Agarwal, Prithvi
Shaw, KL Rahul, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane (vice-captain), Hanuma Vihari, Shubman Gill, Wriddhiman Saha (wicket-keeper), Rishabh Pant
(wicket-keeper), Jasprit Bumrah, Mohd
Shami, Umesh Yadav, Navdeep Saini, Kuldeep Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, R
