“You cannot deny possibility of conflict but chances are very low” - Salman Butt on Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma splitting captaincy duties

Former Pakistan captain Salman Butt reckons there should be no conflict between Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma despite the duo splitting captaincy duties henceforth.

Rohit has been named India’s new T20I skipper after Kohli quit leadership in the format following the T20 World Cup 2021. Kohli, though, will continue as Test and ODI skipper.

In a Q&A session on his YouTube channel, Butt was asked if sharing captaincy duties could create issues between Rohit and Rohit. The former Pakistan skipper responded:

“Whenever there are two different individuals, it (conflict of opinion) is possible, but their domains are different. One is leading the T20 side and the other the ODI and Test teams. They have played some very good cricket together and I haven’t heard of any issues between the two. I think mostly they are in-line and they understand each other.”

Butt pointed out that both Rohit and Kohli are intelligent individuals and added:

“They know their domain. So if they work within it, there shouldn't be any problem. On many issues, their thinking is likely to be parallel because they have been captain and vice-captain. So the think tank is the same and they must be taking decisions as a combined unit. You cannot deny the possibility of a conflict but the chances are very low.”

Rohit will lead India in the three-match T20I series against New Zealand at home, which starts on November 17. He has been rested for the two-match Test series that will follow the T20Is. Meanwhile, Ajinkya Rahane has been named captain for the first Test while Kohli will be back to lead the team in the second.

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Ravi Shastri hints Virat Kohli might quit the ODI captaincy in the near future

Former Team India head coach Ravi Shastri has hinted that there is a possibility of Kohli quitting the ODI captaincy in the near future to concentrate on Test cricket.

Shastri’s tenure as a coach with the Indian team came to an end following India’s exit from the T20 World Cup 2021. Speaking about Kohli, Shastri told India Today:

“In red ball cricket, India has been the No. 1 team in the world for the last 5 years under Virat Kohli. So unless he wants to give up or if he is mentally fatigued and says he wants to focus on his batting - which can happen in the near future, don't think it will happen immediately - it can happen.”

He added:

“The same might happen with the ODI. He might say he wants to focus just on Test captaincy. It is his mind and body that will make that decision. He won't be the first, there are many players in the past who have had very successful tenures and captains and then given it up to focus on batting."

Kohli has been going through a rough patch with the bat over the last couple of seasons. He hasn’t scored an international century since November 2019.