Border-Gavaskar Trophy: Virat Kohli arrives in Perth, practice to commence tomorrow

Border-Gavaskar Trophy: Virat Kohli has arrived in Perth first for the first Test match to be played under the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.

Border-Gavaskar Trophy: The first Test match to be played under the Border-Gavaskar Trophy has seen Virat Kohli arrive in Perth. The star batsman has arrived with his wife and children. Kohli is the first member of the Indian team to arrive in Australia. After landing at Perth Airport, Kohli quickly left for his preparation for the important Test series. It is worth noting that the Indian team will arrive in two batches in Australia. The first batch includes players like Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, and Mohammad Siraj, while the second group will depart soon. The Indian team will start practising at the WACA ground from Tuesday.

Virat Kohli will not lead the Indian team

The captain of the Indian cricket team, Rohit Sharma, will not be able to travel with the first batch due to the birth of his second child. As a result, there is uncertainty about his participation in the first Test. There were speculations that if Rohit does not play, Virat Kohli will lead the team. However, it has been clarified that Jasprit Bumrah will lead the team in Rohit's absence.

Kohli was seen at Mumbai's Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport on Sunday night. He was accompanied by his wife, actress Anushka Sharma, and their children, Vamika and Akay. As he stepped out of his car, Kohli requested the media not to take pictures of his family, citing privacy concerns. However, he did pose for photos with the media before entering the airport.

Gambhir defends Kohli amidst criticisms

Australia's former captain Ricky Ponting had recently criticised Virat Kohli's form, saying that any other player would have been dropped from the team after scoring only two centuries in five years. However, Gautam Gambhir came out in support of Kohli during a press conference before the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. He said that the team has full faith in Kohli and is confident that he will make a comeback and prove his critics wrong in the upcoming series against Australia.