“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,” Wasim stated.
Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis, two former fast bowlers for Pakistan, were harshly critical of the decision to rest Shaheen Shah Afridi for the third Test at the SCG.
Wasim asserted that the choice of which format to prioritize “had nothing to do with the management” and was “solely [Shaheen’s] decision,” cautioning players more generally that they had to make the decision of “if you want to be a great of the game or do you want to be a millionaire.”
Wasim stated on Fox Cricket, “There are five T20s in New Zealand right after this, and Shaheen is the captain.” “Who cares about T20 cricket, though? I recognize that cricketers watch it for entertainment purposes and to benefit financially for cricket boards and players, but they should also know that Test cricket is the best.
“Nobody knows what occurred in the Twenty Years’ Test in Sydney, so let’s talk about what happened last night in T20. The distinction is that. If these men want to be millionaires or great players in the game, they have to understand and learn. If you had a bit more common sense, you could become both.”
Comparably taken aback, Waqar remarked that Afridi’s absence “made me laugh”.
“I was expecting him to play in this Test match because he looked fantastic in the previous games, so that really shocked me. The pace was improving as he began to swing the ball and felt more like the former Shaheen Afridi.”
Pakistan expressed concern over Afridi’s workload throughout the first two Tests. With no lead spinner in the first two Test matches, he headed a young, thin fast bowling lineup that bowled four balls shy of 100 overs, about thirty more than Nathan Lyon, the second busiest bowler in the series.
As he took on more responsibilities in white-ball cricket, his workload over a longer time span has also become a problem. He signed a three-year contract with the ILT20 last year and is the captain of the Lahore Qalandars in the Pakistan Super League.
In addition, he was named captain of the Pakistan Twenty20 International team, which he will lead to a five-match T20I series in New Zealand that begins five days after the third Test is supposed to conclude. Since July 2022, just eight fast bowlers have bowled more balls than Afridi in international cricket, despite the fact that he missed time due to injury.
Prior to the series, Haris Rauf had chosen to sign a BBL contract with the Melbourne Stars, making himself unavailable.
