Though it is a personal decision and legally it is not possible to force someone to stay with the team if he wants to leave for the birth of his child, but former India left-arm spinner Dilip Doshi said India captain Virat Kohli could have changed his mind and considered staying back with the side in Australia for remaining three Tests.
Doshi said it is the job of a captain to take charge of the ‘sinking ship’.
“To me, captaining India would be the prime-most thing on my mind. It’s a sinking ship. This is the time when they need their captain the most. If you leave at this time, you are leaving the side to your deputy with a lot of questions unanswered. I only hope and pray that the team shows enough character to come out of this,” Doshi told Sportskeeda in a video interview.
Doshi, who picked up 114 wickets in 33 Test matches for India and also claimed 22 wickets in 15 ODIs for India during his career, made the comments after India recorded their lowest Test score of 36 and lost the day-night Test in Adelaide in two and a half days to trail the four-match series 1-0.
Terming paternity leave a ‘modern phenomenon’, Doshi said he wouldn’t have flown back home had he been in Kohli’s shoes. “If I put myself in his shoes, I wouldn’t have gone. For me, national duty comes before everything else.”
