The exclusion of Pakistan pace spearhead Shaheen Shah Afridi from the playing XI for the third Test against Australia - David Warner's farewell game - in Sydney has raised eyebrows. Though he went for a lot of runs, Shaheen picked up eight wickets in the first two Tests and ostensibly remains Pakistan's best fast-bowling bet for taming the Aussies. (AUS Vs PAK Scorecard | More Cricket News)
At lunch on Day 1 of the Pink Test, Shaheen cleared the air over his absence from the team, stating workload management as the reason. "I played two games, and a lot of overs to be honest. They're just managing my workload, the medical team and team management decided to take a rest for this (Test)," Shaheen told the host broadcaster 7 Cricket. You can watch the interview below.
Legendary Pakistan quicks Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis, however, slammed the decision. Wasim claimed the move "had nothing to do with the management" and was "solely [Shaheen's] decision", adding that players must decide "if you want to be a great of the game or do you want to be a millionaire" when it came to choosing which format to prioritise.
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"Straight after this there are five T20s in New Zealand, and Shaheen's the captain," Wasim said on Fox Cricket. "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," Wasim said.
"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," the former left-arm seamer added.
Waqar was equally critical, saying Afridi's absence "made me laugh". "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."
