Shaheen Shah Afridi not playing the final Pakistan vs Australia Test at the SCG has drawn severe criticism from all former Pakistan cricketers, and Wasim Akram & Waqar Younis are no different in that regard. Wasim went on to say that the decision that had left many shocked, ‘had nothing to do with the management’ and was ‘solely [Shaheen’s] decision’.
“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.
“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.”
Wasim’s bowling partner, and Pakistan’s coach on a few occasions, Waqar said, Shaheen’s absence from the third Test ‘made me laugh’.
“We play for Test match cricket,” he said on Channel 7. “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 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.”
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