For the 3rd AUS Test, Hafeez clarifies Pakistan's Shaheen Afridi decision after Akram and ‘Waqar's'real shocker’ accusations
The decision to rest Shaheen Afridi for the third and final Test match of the series against Australia at the Sydney Cricket Ground, where the Pakistan cricket team lost by eight wickets to suffer a 0-3 whitewash, had received severe criticism from legends Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis. And while the fast bowler had clarified the team management's stance over it, Mohammad Hafeez, Pakistan‘s director of cricket, cleared the air once again that it was a call that was not taken for the upcoming T20Is against New Zealand.
Speaking to the media in Sydney after the team's third consecutive loss in the ongoing WTC cycle, which saw Pakistan slip from the top spot to sixth in the table, Hafeez revealed that it was the management's call to rest Shaheen for the third game, despite the tourists trailing 0-2 in the contest, and not the player. He further insisted that it was solely to manage his workload.
He said, "He bowled well in those two games and bowled the most of any bowler. When I asked him before the third test, his body was sore. And I need to look after him more than anything."