Virat Kohli will be taking paternity leave for the birth of his child as he misses three Tests against Australia in December and January but this is not the first instance.
Virat Kohli was under the scanner recently when he conveyed to the BCCI that he would be returning home from the India vs Australia Test series after playing the Pink Ball match in Adelaide. The reason - he wanted to be with his wife Anushka Sharma as the couple are expecting the birth of their first child in January 2021. The decision met with mixed reactions from social media, with many hailing the decision while others criticised as to how Virat Kohli can leave a Test series as important as Australia for this event. However, this is not the first instance in Indian cricket or world cricket.
In the past, Indian cricketers did not even have that luxury of going on a paternal leave if they were on an overseas tour. In countries outside of the sub-continent, the concept of paternal leave became only a modern day phenomena. Even until the end of the last 90s, the concept of paternal leave did not exist and only now, we are seeing cricket boards allow players to give priority over family. Here are the other instances in world cricket where a player took a paternity leave and was either accepted or rejected.
1. MS Dhoni paternity leave
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When Virat Kohli decided to take a paternity leave during the Australia series which would make him miss three Tests, many social media users had compared him with MS Dhoni for the way how he put national duty above others when it came to the birth of his child. MS Dhoni was in Australia for the tour that preceded the 2015 World Cup when his daughter was born and his wife conveyed the news of the birth to him through a text message to Suresh Raina as Dhoni was typically incommunicado. Asked next day by the press whether he would like to be with his family, Dhoni said. “Not really … as of now am on national duties so I think everything else can wait. The World Cup is a very important campaign.” Thus, Dhoni did not see the birth of his child and MS Dhoni was glorified. (Image credit: Twitter)
2. Sunil Gavaskar
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However, other greats of Indian cricket were not so lucky. Sunil Gavaskar was on tour to the West Indies in 1976 when he got the news that his son, Rohan would be born. In an interesting anecdote in the Indian Express, Gavaskar wanted to come to India to see him as India’s next cricketing engagement was in the West Indies after two weeks. But the BCCI didn’t grant him permission and asked him to fly with the rest of the team to the Caribbean. Gavaskar would see his son only after two-and-a-half months, and the frustration would blow up in the infamous Jamaica Test when the West Indies hurled bouncers and occasional beamers, sending five Indians to hospital. Anshuman Gaekwad, Gavaskar’s opening partner and writing a column in the Daily Guardian, remembers a brave 131-run partnership when the situation came to a boil after Gavaskar complained to the umpire about intimidatory beamers, but was instead mocked. “The umpire said we were not used to playing short balls and Gavaskar was very angry. I requested him to calm down because I had seen him angry for the first time and he told me, ‘I don’t want to die here. I want to go home and see my son’". (Image credit: Twitter)
3. Sourav Ganguly
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Perhaps, Virat Kohli was granted a paternal leave as the current BCCI president and former India cricket team captain Sourav Ganguly had to bear the pain of not seeing his daughter for over a month after she was born. "Sourav Ganguly was captaining India in a Test series in South Africa in 2001 when his daughter Sana was born. He would see her after a month. Ganguly’s wife Dona would later tell a wire service, “The news of the birth of our baby reached Sourav before me. Owing to the surgery, I was unconscious for a few hours.” (Image credit: Twitter)
4. Shane Warne
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Shane Warne, the greatest spin bowler to ever come out of Australia, had the best of both worlds. He attended one birth during the Ashes 1997 contest but missed one during the 1999 ICC Cricket World Cup. Warne had to wait for nearly a fortnight before he could see his daughter Brooke. Australia were down 1-0 in the series, and they could ill-afford to lose their match-winner. Warne helped Australia square the series by grabbing nine wickets at Old Trafford, his favourite venue, before flying home for a week and returning in time for the fourth Test in Headingley. Two years later, Warne was playing the World Cup in England when his son Jackson was born. But he didn’t even bother to take a paternity break. “I was fine about it,” wrote Warne in his autobiography. Warne was the star in the ICC Cricket World Cup 1999 as they won the tournament in grand style. (Image credit: Twitter)
5. Virat Kohli
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Virat Kohli's current situation comes at a time when cricket boards all over the world are more sympathetic to players and the needs of the families. Many boards like England and Australia, as well as South Africa, are prioritising spending time with family amidst the coronavirus bubble and long tours. Virat Kohli's decision might have left social media mixed but that is only because of the privileges that they might enjoy. The joy of seeing a new born kid at that time is unmatched and that is why, Kohli's decision to miss the three Tests against Australia is a right move and prioritises on International Men's Day that Family comes first and men should be active as co-parents. (Image credit: Twitter)
