Indian skipper Virat Kohli left Australian shores on Tuesday after a pep talk with his teammates ahead of the second Test starting December 26. He also handed his captaincy role to Ajinkya Rahane for remaining three Tests. The captain is returning India for the birth of his first child in January.
Before boarding his flight, Kohli met his teammates and boosted them to give their all in the remainder of the series. Long time before for this Australia tour, Rahane had been trusted with the responsibility of leading the team in absence of Kohli after the star had approached the BCCI for paternity leave. The idea behind conducting the pep talk was to increase the confidence of the players and keep them in a positive way before heading into the crucial Boxing Day Test in Melbourne.
Meanwhile, India pace bowler Mohammed Shami, whose hand was fractured while batting on the third day of the first Test match in Adelaide, has been advised six weeks' rest and will be flying out of Australia for India on Wednesday.
The right-arm pacer will need to undergo a brief period of quarantine on arrival in India. The 30-year-old suffered a fracture on his hand after he was hit by a ball from Australia pace bowler Pat Cummins.
