Virat Kohli has missed the first two Tests of the England series already.
Kohli and the BCCI didn’t divulge any details about the reasons due to which Kohli flew back home from Hyderabad, despite joining the Indian team for the first Test. However, AB de Villiers revealed on his YouTube channel, that Kohli and his wife Anushka Sharma are expecting their second child and hence Kohli is out of India.
But in a twist, De Villiers later retracted his statement about Virat Kohli and apologized. However, this has still not solved the mystery of Kohli’s extended absence from the Indian team, and the same thing has delayed the BCCI from naming the India squad for the last three Tests of the England series.
Amid this, fans have stood divided over Kohli's call. But Kohli has received an overpour of support from his colleagues.
South African great pacer Dale Steyn supported Virat Kohli taking a break from cricket to be his family.
"Family is your most important priority. Sorry, that's it. That's the end of the story right there. I've got three dogs and when one of them got sick, I was out of the IPL. I was jumping on the plane out of there to come back and see my dog. So that's my family. If Virat Kohli has decided to sit back home because he wants to be with his wife, if he's going to have his second child, I don't see any problem with that. He's been a servant of India for many years. He's won a World Cup; he's captained with success. I don't know what more a man can do to prove himself in the cricketing world," Steyn, bowling coach of Sunrisers Eastern Cape, told Hindustan Times.
Steyn, de Villiers, and Kohli share a close bond – Virat and ABD being as close as brothers. The trio were teammates at the Royal Challengers Bangalore, sharing the locker room for two seasons.
"I think at the end of the day, it doesn't matter about cricket. What matters is why you're playing and who helped you get there. The people behind you or the scenes, are the ones the public doesn't see. Your partner, your mother, your wife, your sister… those are the people that are constantly picking you up and if it means that their health is in jeopardy or something is wrong with them, you go to them and that's the most important thing," pointed out Steyn.
It remains to be seen when Kohli returns to cricket as this England series is the last international assignment for Team India before IPL 2024 begins.