Former Indian captain Virat Kohli has decided to withdraw from the upcoming South Africa ODI series so that he can celebrate his daughter Vamika’s first birthday.
The stellar batter, who was recently removed as India’s white-ball captain, has informed the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) if Indian media reports are to be believed.
India will play three ODIs against South Africa after a Test series. Indian captain Rohit Sharma has already announced he will not be playing the Test matches.
Kohli wants to go on a holiday with his family to celebrate Vamika’s birthday after the Test series concludes. Vamika was born on January 11 this year.
Last year, when Vamika was born, Kohli had gone on paternity leave after the first Test in Australia in Adelaide. India had lost that game before stand-in captain Ajinkya Rahane led the side to a historic series win against Australia.
The last Test match of the India-South Africa series will take place on January 11, with the ODIs set to begin from January 19.
Kohli was rested for the T20 series against New Zealand and also for the first of the two Test matches between the two teams. He returned to play the Mumbai Test match, which India won.
Last month, the Indian captain led the Men in Blue in their dismal T20 World Cup campaign, which started off with a humiliating 10-wicket loss to Pakistan.
Kohli came under immense criticism from fans and critics alike when his team lost to New Zealand in the second match as well, which ultimately led to the team’s exit from the World Cup.
Although there were reports that the BCCI had removed Kohli from white-ball captaincy and appointed Rohit Sharma without even informing him, BCCI President Ganguly clarified that the board had requested Kohli not to step down from T20 captaincy.
“We (BCCI) had requested Virat not to step down as T20I captain. There was no plan to change captaincy. But he stepped down as T20I captain and the selectors decided not to split limited-overs captaincy, opting for a complete separation,” Ganguly said a few days ago.
“The bottom line is that there can’t be two white-ball captains,” the former Indian captain had said.
