Kohli to attend Hughes funeral

Virat Kohli, India's stand-in captain, will attend the funeral of Australian cricketer Phillip Hughes on Wednesday. He will be joined by team director Ravi Shastri, coach Duncan Fletcher and team manager Arshad Ayub.

Three or four other Indian players are expected to join them and a final decision will be made once the team reaches Brisbane on Monday. The funeral will be held in Hughes' hometown of Macksville.

The left-handed batsman died on Thursday after being hit by a bouncer in a Sheffield Shield game two days prior, sparking an outburst of emotion throughout the country.

The first Test match in Brisbane has been postponed to enable players to attend the funeral. The Indians' two-day tour match against Cricket Australia Invitational XI at Adelaide Oval this past weekend was also cancelled. The team remained in the city till Sunday, holding regular practice sessions in preparation for the Test series.

Sunday would have been Hughes' 26th birthday. Australia captain Michael Clarke wrote a special tribute to his former team-mate. Cricket Australia too edited the scorecard from the Sheffield Shield game between New South Wales and South Australia, changing Hughes' status from 'retired hurt' to '63 not out'.

The Australian governing body has been full of praise for the understanding and patience the BCCI and the visiting team have shown in the circumstances. Attending the funeral is another step for the Indian contingent to extend solidarity to their hosts.

India had earlier practised away from the Adelaide Oval on Friday as a mark of respect, holding a closed net session, wearing black armbands. On Saturday before practice, Kohli had placed of his bats and his India cap outside the Adelaide Oval, paying tribute to Hughes along with thousands worldwide who joined in the #putoutyourbats campaign on Twitter.