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Justin Langer praises Virat Kohli’s decision | Australian coach Justin Langer full of praise for Virat Kohli both on and off the field

During the selection meeting, Virat Kohli expressed his desire to take paternity leave as the couple will welcome their first child in early January. Anushka Sharma had accompanied the Indian captain during the IPL tournament held in UAE, and Kohli has since decided to leave Adelaide after the first Test match that ends on December 21 to be with his wife for the arrival of their first child.

As the news broke, it created quite a stir on social media. However, Australian head coach Justin Langer supported the dad-to-be for putting his family ahead of the game. “He’s a human being like all of us… if I was giving advice to any of my players I would always say never, ever miss the birth of your children because it is one of the great things you’ll ever do. I cannot believe he displays the energy he does in everything he does and I’ve got so much respect for him. I’ve also got respect for him in the sense that he’s made this decision”, he said while talking to media.

Kohli’s absence will surely give the Aussies an edge especially after India defeated them in the 2018-19 series. “Virat Kohli is probably the best player I’ve ever seen in my life for so many reasons, not only batting but his energy and passion for the game, the way he fields,” Langer told reporters by video conference. “Of course, it will have an impact, but we also know that India beat us last time. They’re a very, very good team, we cannot get complacent for a second with or without Virat”, he said.

Talking about Austraia’s squad that has included highly-celebrated young player Will Pucovski and Cameron Green, Langer said that We want guys who are outside the team to bang so hard you can’t ignore them. “Pucovski’s been amazing hasn’t he, and that’s what we’re looking for. And the fact is Will’s been so good, we can’t ignore him. That said, I’ve also been consistent with the messaging since last summer, the last time we played Test cricket, that we loved the combination of Joe Burns and David Warner. They have a real synergy, they work well together, have chemistry. So at this point I’d say that will remain the same”, the coach added.

India have arrived in Australia and they have begun 14-day quarantine while preparing for the white-ball matches that kick off the tour.

Written by Anjali Jha. Follow Anjali on Twitter today.