Kohli might give up captaincy to focus on batting: Shastri

Shastri’s tenure with the India team ended following an early exit from Men’s T20 World Cup in the UAE. Kohli, who has taken rest for the T20I series and the first Test match against visitor New Zealand to recover from bio-bubble fatigue, has relinquished captaincy in the shortest format. While speaking to India Today, Shastri was asked about Kohli giving up captaincy in other formats to manage his workload better. “In red-ball cricket, India has been No.1 for the last five years under his captaincy. Unless he wants to give it up or he is mentally fatigued, where he says he wants to focus on his batting which can happen in the near future.

“It won’t happen immediately, but it can happen. The same might happen with white-ball cricket, he might say he had enough and focus on Test captaincy. It is his mind and body that will make the decision. He won’t be the first. A lot of successful players have given up captaincy to focus on their batting for their side,” said Shastri.