Advertisment
Cricket

'Akram bhai clean bowls' - Fans react as Wasim Akram slams Pakistan T20I captain Shaheen Afridi for missing 3rd Test vs Australia

Afridi was rested as Pakistan will play a five-match T20I series against New Zealand after the Australian tour. This will be the 23-year-old's first national captaincy assignment.

author-image
Mathew K
New Update
Shaheen Afridi & Wasim Akram (Source: Twitter)

Shaheen Afridi & Wasim Akram (Source: Twitter)

Legendary Pakistan cricketer Wasim Akram slammed the team management's decision to rest Shaheen Shah Afridi in the third and final Test against Australia. Despite trailing 0-2 in the three-match series, Pakistan opted to play without their premier pacer, forcing Akram to highlight the importance of Test cricket. 

Advertisment

Afridi was rested as Pakistan will play a five-match T20I series against New Zealand after the Australian tour. Notably, this will be the 23-year-old's first national captaincy assignment. The former Pakistan pacer warned players to decide whether they want to become millionaires by playing T20 cricket or become greats of the game by playing the "ultimate" format. 

"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 told Fox Cricket.

"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," he added. 

Advertisment

That's a real shocker for me: Waqar Younis surprised by Shaeen's absence  

Former Pakistan seamer and head coach Waqar Younis was also surprised by Shaheen's absence in the last Test match. The 52-year-old couldn't believe the pacer missed the game because of rest and not due to injuries.  

"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", said Waqar to Channel 7.

Advertisment

"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," he added. 

Afridi had a poor outing in the first Test in Perth, where he finished with a combined 2/172. However, he was in fine touch in the MCG Test, posting figures of 6/161, including a four-for in the second innings, to give Pakistan a slight hope of victory. 

Here's how fans reacted to Wasim Akram's statement: 

Australia Pakistan Shaheen Shah Afridi