Virat Kohli's paternity leave makes Australian broadcasters slam CA for $450 million deal

Virat Kohli's decision to take a leave of paternity during the India vs Australia 2020 series has made waves in the sporting world. While many have spoken against the captain's decision, he has mostly been praised for taking such a progressive step and balancing his priorities before the birth of his first child. Of course, in accepting Kohli's decision, it will also make the already tough Australian environment that much tougher for the Men in Blue. 

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Kohli paternity leave: Channel 7 claim Kohli's departure will cost them heavily 

The aggressive and animated Kohli is a huge part of India's on-field presence - especially while playing a side with so much home support. Not only will his absence from his team throw the side a little bit, but it has also raised concerns among broadcasters in Australia. The already rickety deal between Channel 7 and Cricket Australia will now be tested further, as the broadcasters expect a massive drop in viewership without Kohli. 

According to Yahoo Sport, Channel 7, who were given the rights to broadcast the four red-ball games in the series, are also resentful of the fact that their competitors, Fox Sports were given the rights to the white-ball games - each of which will have Kohli playing. They have also complained that almost their entire summer promotion hinged on Kohli and will now have to be amended to reflect Kohli's absence from all but one Test match - including the iconic Boxing Day Test. 

Channel 7 almost pulled out of their $450 million deal with CA earlier this year after a predicted lack of viewership for the Big Bash League due to the lack of big international names. The postponement of the last test from its traditional date of January 2, to January 7 will also affect viewership, as it will be way past the holiday season.

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Anushka Sharma pregnant

Virat Kohli and Anushka Sharma announced earlier this year that were expected their first child together. Since then, Anushka Sharma has been seen cheering for her husband at the Dream11 IPL in the UAE. However, it seems that she will not be accompanying the team down under. Kohli, of course, will join her after the T20Is, ODIs and the first Test in Adelaide. 

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India squad for Australia 2020

The BCCI has announced the India squad for the India vs Australia 2020 series. The much talked about list has already been through multiple amendments in light of some new injury reports and other updates. Rohit Sharma has now been cleared to play the Test games in Kohli's absence. Sanju Samson has received a callup to the ODI squad while T Natarajan has been added to the T20I list. Youngsters, Varun Chakravarthy and Kamlesh Nagarkoti have been ruled out, while Ishant Sharma and Wriddhiman Saha's additions are tentative based on their fitness.

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Image Credits: AP