Indian skipper Virat Kohli has been granted paternity leave by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to be with his actress wife Anushka Sharma during the birth of their first child in January 2021. The 32-year-old will head back home after playing the opening Test of the four-match series against Australia, beginning December 17 at the Adelaide Oval.
While many lauded the Indian skipper's decision to attend his child birth, others criticised as to how Kohli could leave for the important Test series against Australia.
"At the selection committee meeting held on October 26th, 2020, Mr Virat Kohli had informed the BCCI about his plans to return to India after the first Test in Adelaide. The BCCI has granted paternity leave to the Indian captain. He will return after the first Test against Australia in Adelaide," the BCCI had said in an official statement.
Prior to Kohli, many other Indian cricketers were also applied for the paternity leave. While some of them were allowed, the others were denied. Let us take a look at some of the instances:
List of Indian cricketers whose paternity leaves were accepted and rejected
Current BCCI chief Sourav Ganguly, who has granted paternity leave to Indian captain Virat Kohli, had to bear the pain of not seeing her daughter Sana for more than one month after she was born.Ganguly was leading the Indian men's cricket team in a Test series against South Africa in 2001 during the birth of her daughter.
Cricketer-turned-politician Gautam Gambhir headed back to India midway during Kolkata Knight Riders' campaign at the 2014 Indian Premier League (IPL) in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to be with his wife Natasha for the birth of their son Aazeen Gambhir.However, Gambhir flew to Ranchi in time for his franchise's next IPL match.(Image Courtesy: ICC official website)
Indian star opening batsman Rohit Sharma opted to miss his side's fourth and final Test against Australia in 2018 and return to his home to be with his new-born daughter Samaira following her birth. (Image Courtesy: Twitter/@ImRo45)
Former Indian skipper Rahul Dravid returned to India in order to attend the birth of his second son Anvay Dravid midway during the 2009 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) in South Africa.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) rejected former Indian cricketer Sunil Gavaskar's request to attend the birth of his son Rohan in 1976.
As a result, Gavaskar had to travel with the rest of the Indian squad to the West Indies for an all-important four-match Test series.
He got a chance to see his son only after two-and-a-half months.(Image Credits: Twitter/@ICC)
After Virat Kohli decided to take a paternity leave following the first Australia Test, many had reminded him of former Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni's decision to skip the birth of his daughter Ziva and keep national duty above others.
The wicketkeeper-bastman was leading the Men in Blue in the 2015 International Cricket Council (ICC) World Cup in Australia when Ziva was born.
Dhoni's wife Sakshi had to call Indian cricketer Suresh Raina to inform about the birth of their daughter as the former Indian captain was incommunicado.