I could see the boredom on his face during the IPL: Shoaib Akhtar feels Virat Kohli should accept split-captaincy if he is fatigued

Former Pakistan fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar believes that Virat Kohli should allow Rohit Sharma to lead the Indian cricket team in one of the formats if he feels fatigued. The 45-year-old stated that he could see 'boredom' on Kohli's face when he led the Royal Challengers Bangalore in IPL 2020.

In an interview with PTI on Wednesday, Shoaib Akhtar discussed whether the Indian cricket team should adopt a split captaincy strategy. Currently, Virat Kohli is the captain of the Indian team in all three formats.

However, many fans feel that Rohit Sharma should take over the reins of the team in the limited-overs format owing to his incredible captaincy record in the IPL.

Akhtar pointed out that as Virat Kohli had been playing international cricket regularly since 2010, he might be feeling a bit tired.

"My take on it is pretty simple. From what I know, Virat is very keen to take the team forward. It all depends on how fatigued he is feeling. He has been playing non-stop since 2010, has got 70 centuries and a mountain of runs under his belt. If he is feeling fatigued, then he should think about giving the leadership role to Rohit in one of the formats," said Akhtar.

Shoaib Akhtar feels the bio-bubble could have had a negative impact on Virat Kohli's mindset

Virat Kohli is one of the most energetic players on the field. However, in Shoaib Akhtar's view, the monotonous bio-bubble life seemingly got the better of him during IPL 2020. It is pertinent to note that even Kohli had spoken about this issue on RCB TV recently.

"I could see the boredom on his face during the IPL, maybe it was because of the bio-bubble situation. He seemed a bit stressed out. It all depends on how he feels. Rohit has been ready for captaincy for a while," Shoaib Akhtar added.

Virat Kohli has clarified that he will not play the last three Test matches of the Australian tour. In his absence, vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane will likely lead the side. However, a few experts have suggested that Rohit Sharma should take over as skipper in those three games.

Shoaib Akhtar signed off by saying that The Hitman will have a golden opportunity to prove himself as a leader if the selectors pick him over Rahane. India's Australia tour will kick off on 27th November with a 3-match ODI series.