As the Indian team embarks on a two-month-long tour to Australia for a full series, skipper Virat Kohli was the centre of attention much before his bat could start talking, due to his paternity leave. But, Australian head coach Justin Langer has given Virat Kohli accolades for his batting and rated him probably the best batsmen he has watched all his life. Langer, who himself had a shining career at the top of the order for Australia also hailed Kohli for his passion and love for the game, which the Indian captain put on display while folding.
"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 in a virtual conference.
The leave sought by Kohli will see him miss the last three Tests of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy scheduled to begin on December 17 in Adelaide. But, Langer saw an emotional part of Virat Kohli behind the decision-making process to leave the series after just one game. Langer said he too would have advised his players to not miss the birth of their first child as the moment is one of the greatest in a human's life.
"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," Langer said further.
Discussing the impact that Virat Kohli’s absence will leave on the widely-anticipated Test series, Langer reminded his team about the defeat they faced the last time the sides met in Australia and warned his players to not get complacent in his absence as Indian Test team will still pose a formidable challenge.
"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," Langer added in his remarks on the build-up to the series against India.
Vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane is likely to lead the side in absence of Virat Kohli while Rohit Sharma will join the squad in Australia for the Test series only. The absence of Virat Kohli will be a big factor and it will be a tough series for the Indian side to compete against an all-strong Australian side with the likes of Steve Smith and David Warner who had missed the last series between the sides.
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