Former Pakistan legend Wasim Akram slammed Pakistan’s decision to rest Shaheen Afridi for the third and final Test against Australia at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG). Despite Pakistan trailing 0-2 in the series, crucial points for the World Test Championship (WTC) are still up for grabs. Yet, the speedster was surprisingly rested for the Sydney Test before his first national captaincy assignment in the T20Is against New Zealand, starting January 12 as well.
Speaking to Fox Cricket, Akram said, “Straight after this there are five T20s in New Zealand, and Shaheen’s the captain. But T20 cricket, who cares? I understand, it’s there for entertainment and it’s there for financial gain for cricket boards, for players, but cricketers should know that Test cricket is the ultimate.”
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The former Pakistan captain further added: “If we talk about what happened 20 years ago in this Test in Sydney, nobody knows what happened last night in T20. That’s the difference. These guys have to understand and learn, if you want to be a great of the game or do you want to be a millionaire. You can become both but with a little more sense.”
After a poor first Test, where he finished with a combined 2/172, Shaheen Afridi returned to his best in the MCG Test. The youngster registered figures of 6/161, including a four-fer in the second innings to help Pakistan get closer to a win as well. Yet, they lost by 79 runs to lose their 16th consecutive Test match in Australia as well. Meanwhile, another former Pakistan captain, Waqar Younis, backed Wasim Akram’s sentiments on Pakistan resting Shaheen Afridi for the final Test as well.
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“We play for Test match cricket. We don’t play for T20s or one-day cricket. And if you’re missing Test match cricket purely because you are being rested, I do not understand”, said Waqar to Channel 7. “That’s a real shocker for me because I was expecting him to be a part of this Test match because he looked good in the previous match. He started feeling like the old Shaheen Afridi and started to swing the ball and the pace was getting better.”
