Virat Kohli would’ve returned for the last Test against Australia if not for quarantine protocols: Ravi Shastri

India skipper Virat Kohli is currently in Australia training hard ahead of the ODI series which is set to commence on November 27. Both the teams are also set to face-off in three T20Is and four Tests. But Kohli will be missing the last three Tests of the tour as he will be returning to India to attend the birth of his first child with wife and actress Anushka Sharma.

Opinions have varied on the Indian captain missing the chunk of a crucial Test series. Many have praised Virat Kohli for prioritising the family and even the head coach Ravi Shastri is of the same opinion. Rather he has also revealed that the 32-year-old would’ve come back to Australia to play the fourth and final Test match if the 14-day quarantine protocol wasn’t there.

It is a once-in-a-lifetime moment and I am with him. He is not the one to miss a game if there was not a compelling reason. But for this bloody quarantine he would have returned for the last Test,” Shastri said while speaking to Sportstar.

14-day isolation would be tough for anyone according to Ravi Shastri
There is a gap of 24 days between the end of the first Test and the start of the fourth Test in Brisbane. But Australia have imposed strict quarantine rules for the ones travelling from outside the country. Ravi Shastri also pointed out the same saying that fulfilling another 14-day quarantine would be very tough for Virat Kohli. If he has to return for the final Test, the Indian skipper will have to land again in Australia December 31 or January 1.

“But it’s not easy because the quarantine process in Australia is active and very hard. To go through another 14-day period of isolation would be tough for anyone. I must tell our fans and critics that Virat is the only Asian captain, dead or alive, to have won a series against Australia at home and away from home. That is the trigger for the team to remember and shine,” Shastri added.