Former Pakistan captain Waqar Younis has expressed his shock over Shaheen Afridi being rested for the ongoing Test between Australia and Pakistan at the Sydney Cricket Ground.
With the series already lost, Pakistan are looking to avoid another whitewash in Australia. They are also eyeing their first Test win on the Australian soil since 1995. And while it was expected that Pakistan would field a strong side for the final Test of the three-match series, they sprung a huge surprise by resting their pace spearhead. Shaheen Afridi has been replaced by off-spinner Sajid Khan in the playing XI.
Pakistan rested the pacer to manage his workload and keep him fresh for the upcoming T20I series against New Zealand where he will be leading the country for the first time. Shaheen Afridi bowled a combined 45 overs in the first Test before bowling a total of 54 overs in the second Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
Waqar Younis shocked:
Just before the start of the third Test in Sydney, Waqar Younis expressed his disappointment and shock over Pakistan team management’s decision to rest Shaheen Afridi for the game. Highlighting the importance of Test cricket, the Pakistan great said that he does not understand the logic behind players skipping Test matches to play T20s or ODIs.
“We play for Test match cricket, we don’t play for T20s or one-day cricket. If you’re missing Test match cricket purely because you’re being rested, I do not understand. That’s a real shocker for me,” Waqar Younis told 7Cricket.
"We play for Test match cricket, we don't play for T20s or one-day cricket. If you're missing Test match cricket purely because you're being rested, I do not understand. That's a real shocker for me."
– @waqyounis99 on Shaheen not playing this Test #AUSvPAK pic.twitter.com/DpuHAwbBXF
— 7Cricket (@7Cricket) January 2, 2024
Talking about Shaheen Afridi’s performance in the ongoing series, he picked up just 2 wickets in the first Test before claiming 2 more in the first innings of the second Test. In the second innings of the Boxing Test, he looked in good rhythm and picked up 4 wickets.
Pakistan, however, ended up losing both the games to concede the three-match series. Australia won the first Test by 360 runs before winning the second one by 79 runs to clinch the series with a match to go. Talking about the ongoing game in Sydney, Pakistan have made a poor start with the bat. They were reeling at 96 for 5 at one stage before a 94-run stand between Mohammad Rizwan and Agha Salman steadied the ship.
