Indian skipper Virat Kohli will miss three Tests in the upcoming Australia tour due to the birth of his first child.
Kohli and his wife Anushka Sharma are expecting a child in January, and the captain has been granted permission by the BCCI to return home after the Test series opener.
See Also: Team India land in Sydney, Kohli to get rugby legend’s suite during quarantine
The battle for the prestigious Border-Gavaskar Trophy will kick-start with the pink-ball affair at the Adelaide Oval on December 17. Melbourne will host the second Test from December 26 while the third and fourth Tests will be played in Sydney Cricket Ground (January 7-11) and Brisbane's Gabba (January 15-19), respectively.
Nonetheless, Australia’s star off-spinner Nathan Lyon wants to make the most of his one crack at Kohli this summer and “get him out cheaply”.
According to Lyon, the absence of the Indian captain form the last three Tests doesn’t mean that the hosts would walk away with the Border-Gavaskar Trophy easily.
“It’s disappointing for the series. You want to play against the best players in the world,” Lyon quoted as saying by Fox Sports.
“I believe he is the best player in the world along with Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne. It’s disappointing but they have still got superstars.
“Look at Pujara, Rahane, and they have also got a couple of young guys coming in. It’s still going to be a massive challenge for us.
“Just because Virat’s not here doesn’t mean we get to hold the trophy up. We’ve still got a lot of work to do, a lot of homework to do,” he explained.
Meanwhile, Australia on Thursday (November 12) announced a 17-man squad for the four-match Test series against India.
Western Australia all-rounder Cameron Green has earned his maiden Test call-up while the squad also sees the comeback of Victorian batsman Will Pucovski.
Sean Abbott, Mitchell Swepson and Michael Neser are also named in what is an extended home Test squad, keeping in mind the COVID-19 restrictions.
Australian Test Squad:
Sean Abbott, Joe Burns, Pat Cummins, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Michael Neser, Tim Paine (c), James Pattinson, Will Pucovski, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Mitchell Swepson, Matthew Wade, David Warner
