Kohli will return to India for the birth of her first child in January.
Before boarding his flight home, the star hitter met with his teammates and encouraged them to give their all for the rest of the series, which the visitors remain 0-1 after a tough opening test loss.
Long before set foot in Australia, Rahane had been entrusted with the responsibility of leading the team in Kohli’s absence after the star approached the BCCI for paternity leave.
The idea behind organizing the motivational talk was to increase the confidence of the players and keep them in a positive frame of mind ahead of the crucial Boxing Day event in Melbourne.
India lost the lung opener here within three days after falling to its lowest test score of 36.
The second test is scheduled to take place in iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) from December 26 to 30.
Kohli, who has led the test team since 2014, urged his players to show intention and express themselves on the field without any inhibitions.
While Kohli left for India, his cue ball assistant Rohit Sharma is under quarantine in Sydney.
Kohli was India’s best player with the bat in the first game of the series, with a record of 74 in his first innings before being eliminated after a misunderstanding with Rahane.
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