My decision to return home after the first Test for the impending birth of my first child was made prior to the October 26 selection meeting and I conveyed the same to the selectors at the meeting, India skipper Virat Kohli disclosed on Thursday.
Kohli will return home after the first five-day Test in Adelaide that ends on December 21 to be with his wife Anushka who is due for delivery sometime in January.
"The decision was made before we had the selection meeting and I explained the same to selectors that I will be flying back after the first Test. It was purely based on the fact that because we have a quarantine period both ways. I wanted to be back home in time to be with my wife for the birth of my first child," he said at a virtual media conference on the eve of the first One-day International here.
"It is a very, very special and very, very beautiful moment that I want to experience. That was the reason behind my decision and I communicated to the selectors during the selection meeting," he said, without holding back his emotions.
