Pakistan surprised everyone with their announcement of the playing XI on Tuesday for the ongoing third and final Test against Australia in Sydney, notably without their star pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi.
The left-arm pacer, who currently leads the Pakistan pace attack, found himself on the bench alongside opener Imam-ul-Haq for the New Year’s Test at the iconic Sydney Cricket Ground.
Despite Shaheen's challenging start to the series, grappling with a lack of pace in the first Test, the 23-year-old showed improvement as the series progressed, notably taking four wickets in the second innings of the second Test in Melbourne.
During the Lunch break on Day 1 in Sydney, speaking to Channel 7, Shaheen discussed his omission from the playing XI for the third Test, citing that the decision to not include the prominent quick was made to manage his workload.
"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 give a rest for this (match)," Shaheen said.
On being asked about his bowling performance in the first two Tests, Shaheen believed that he could have got some more wickets but the drop catches from the Pakistan fielders never helped.
"I think that I can take more wickets, but unfortunately catches win matches, and unfortunately we missed those opportunities on the field most of the time. As a bowling unit, and as a team, we gave our best, the result was not in our hands, but we tried," Shaheen added.
Remember, Pakistan will be playing five T20Is against New Zealand with the first of them scheduled to take place on January 12 where Shaheen will be leading the side.
Meanwhile, the former Pakistan captains, Waqar Younis and Wasim Akram were baffled by the decision of Shaheen resting.
“Straight after this [Sydney Test] 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 financial gain, but cricketers should know that Test cricket is the ultimate," Wasim expressed his disappointment on Fox Cricket, emphasising the importance of Test cricket over T20s.
“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,” Akram added.
Echoing Akram's sentiments, Waqar Younis also expressed his frustration with Shaheen’s decision, finding it amusing yet disappointing. Speaking to Channel 7, Waqar said, “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. That’s a real shocker for me because I was expecting him to be a part of this Test match.”
- Shaheen Afridi