Australia vs Pakistan: Former cricketers unimpressed with absence of Shaheen Shah Afridi in third Test

Pakistan cricket team’s decision to rest ace fast bowler Shaheen Afridi from the third Test against Australia has been criticised by many. Afridi was one of the most promising Pakistan bowlers in the second Test which Australia won to reclaim the Benaud-Qadir Trophy. The left-arm pacer scalped four wickets in the second innings. Legendary Pakistan cricketers Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis have now slammed the move to not include Afridi in the playing XI for the final Test currently being played at the Sydney Cricket Ground. “It had nothing to do with the management. It was solely [Shaheen’s] decision,” Akram said on Fox Cricket. Akram felt that the players will have to decide if they “want to be a great of the game or want to be a millionaire". “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,” Akram added. Another legendary Pakistan pacer Waqar Younis seemed totally baffled by the move to not include Afridi in the team. “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,” he told 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,” Waqar added. Australia lead the three-match Test series against Pakistan 2-0. It was reported that the Pakistan team management decided to not include Afridi in the Sydney Test to offer him some rest ahead of the T20I series against New Zealand. The five-match T20I series between Pakistan and New Zealand is scheduled to start from Friday, 12 January.