Shastri also backed Kohli to end his lean run in Asia Cup.
Nikhil did commentary duty for a match in Australia before coming to Bangkok. He will return to Australia at the end of this week after his son's event on Sunday.
The fifth Test match between England and India, which starts in Manchester on Friday, is doubtful after Team India's support staff tested positive for COVID-19.
Former England captain Michael Vaughan said he is sorry for all the hurt Azeem Rafiq has experienced following his ex-Yorkshire team mate's revelations about racism in English cricket.
All-rounder Ben Stokes looks set to miss the Ashes series against Australia later this year after England's cricket board (ECB) said on Thursday he has undergone a second operation on a broken index finger.
England fans were seen wearing crying Steve Smith masks during the first Ashes Test.
ECB England off-spinner Dom Bess described James Anderson as the greatest English player of all time after the 38-year-old moved within two wickets of becoming the first pace bowler to claim 600 Test victims.
Images from Day 3 in the second Test between England and India, at Lord's, on Saturday.
Images from Day 3 of the first Test between England and West Indies at the Ageas Bowl, on Friday
"Deeply saddened to inform that ex-Mumbai cricketer and scorer Ranjita Rane has passed away," a senior Mumbai Cricket Association official said.
India and Pakistan have not played bilateral cricket for close to a decade now due to diplomatic tensions between the two countries.
IMAGES from Day 5 of the 2nd Test played at Newlands in Cape Town on Tuesday.
Pant, whose rapid 146 put India in the box seat, was more restrained in the second innings.
The cricket world was in awe of India's wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant following his outstanding innings on Day 1 of the fifth Test against England, at Edgbaston cricket ground in Birmingham, on Friday.
The BCCI secretary Jay Shah said that Virat Kohli will continue to contribute as a player and senior member in the T20s as well.
Board of Control for Cricket in India president Sourav Ganguly said their players refused to play the fifth and final Test against England due to COVID-19 concerns and denied that the upcoming IPL had played any part in the decision.
On the cusp of his 100th Test, Cheteshwar Pujara, the quiet warrior of Indian cricket, always ends up winning the race.
All-rounder Ben Stokes on Thursday was not included in England's 15-man preliminary squad for the Twenty20 World Cup as he continues to take a break from cricket to focus on his mental health, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) said.
In the longest format of the game, Babar is ranked fifth in the world, behind Australia's Marnus Labuschagne and the 'Big Four' of India's Virat Kohli, England's Joe Root, Australia's Steve Smith and New Zealand's Kane Williamson.
England battled to 96 for four in their second innings by the end of a dramatic fourth day at Lord's to lead Australia by 104 runs and leave the second Ashes Test on a knife-edge.
Fast bowler Duanne Olivier has been recalled for South Africa's home Test series against India, a reward for excellent domestic form from a player who shot to prominence four years ago before taking up a Kolpak contract.
Spectators stood up and waved sandpapers at Warner as he walked off the field
Mohammad Hafeez scored a scintillating unbeaten 86 as Pakistan held their nerve to defeat England by five runs in the third and final Twenty20 International at Old Trafford on Tuesday to tie the series 1-1.
IMAGES from Day 1 of the 2nd Test played between England and New Zealand at Trent Bridge on Friday.
International cricket will gingerly ease out of a 117-day shutdown in Southampton next week but the scars of the COVID-19 pandemic will be clearly evident at the Ageas Bowl. An encounter between the fourth and eighth ranked teams in Test cricket is hardly a pinnacle but England's series against West Indies could offer a glimpse into a future where the game plods on under the shadow of the new coronavirus.
Stokes and few others have upset stomach.
Phoenix never really got going in reply, however, after opener David Bedingham went for a duck and Will Smeed for two.
'Shaheen's absence big setback for Pakistan'
He missed three months of cricket last summer after dislocating the same shoulder playing for Surrey.
Images from the English Premier League matches played on Saturday
Sibley put on 116 for the third wicket with captain Joe Root (61), before the latter steered Dwaine Pretorius to Faf du Plessis at slip late on.
India paid the price for their poor shot selection as they struggled against the short-pitched deliveries
'The moment we found a goal it changed everything'
A lightweight in global sport, India is only behind Russia (167) and Italy (157), while Brazil (78) is at fourth and Iran (70) fifth.
Images from Day 3 of the first Test between South Africa and England at Supersport Park in Centurion on Saturday.
India's captain Jasprit Bumrah hit England pacer Stuart Broad for a world record 35 runs in an over as India were dismissed for 416 in the first innings on Day 2 of the rescheduled fifth Test against England, at Edgbaston cricket ground, in Birmingham, on Saturday.
Australia's Steve Smith struck a superb 144 on his return to the side as they recovered from 122-8 to reach 284 all out against England in the first innings of the first Ashes Test before the hosts saw out two overs unscathed at Edgbaston on Thursday.
Speaking at the end of the day's play, Rishabh Pant explains how he was able to turn it around for the India on day 1 of the fifth Test against England.
After a 117-day absence, international cricket returned in familiar fashion on Wednesday as rain and bad light restricted the first Test between England and West Indies to 17.4 overs and the hosts closed a frustrating day on 35-1.
Kohli recently relinquished Test captaincy after his team's 1-2 defeat against a weak South African side but for the leg-spin wizard, Kohli's biggest contribution is being the foremost flag-bearer of cricket's hardest form.
