'Well done my friend Shaz, now come back to comm box' - Wasim Akram shares special message after Ravi Shastri's coaching stint ends

Former Pakistan pacer Wasim Akram shared a special message for his old friend Ravi Shastri, whose tenure as India’s head coach ended with the team’s premature exit from the T20 World Cup 2021.

Akram, in an interaction with social media app Koov, also lauded “champion” Virat Kohli, who played his last T20I on November 8 as India’s captain in the format, having made the announcement that he will step down from the position upon the conclusion of the World Cup in a bid to manage his workload.

Kohli did not get a chance to bat in his final game, as he preferred sending in Suryakumar Yadav to score the final runs when India lost Rohit Sharma at the brink of victory.

“Perfect finish for a champion like Virat Kohli as India’s T20I captain. He has been a terrific leader in all three formats. But even on the final day, we saw his leadership as he let Surya finish the job which he could have done so easily against Namibia.

“Credit also due to Namibia for they performed. But my heart goes out to my friend Shaz [reference to famous ‘The Shaz and Waz Show” from mid-2000s featuring both Shastri and Akram], well done. Come back to the comm box buddy,” Akram’s post read.

In an interaction with ‘A Sports’ show later, Akram heaped praises on Shastri for his brilliant work with the Indian team over the last four years. “My good friend Shazzy, it was your last tournament as a coach and I think you’ve done wonders in the last three years. We spoke about him before. I think he was brilliant as far as man-management was concerned.”

“At that level, you don’t need too much coaching, you need management and Ravi was good at it. I wish him all the luck and I am sure he will do wonders in the commentary. He was missed,” Akram added. “I think he has got the bug now. Three years with the Indian team and now I’m hearing that he might get the coaching gig with the new IPL team, the Ahmedabad one.”