“Truly shocking, it made me laugh.” – Waqar Younis and Wasim Akram doubt Shaheen Afridi’s dedication to the Test match

To better manage his workload, star bowler Shaheen Shah Afridi has stepped away from the current third Test match against Australia. Notably, after losing the first Test, the management made it clear that the player might take a sabbatical if they didn’t win the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne. The T20 World Cup has been taken into consideration when making this selection, particularly as Shaheen is the captain for the shortest format.

The 23-year-old stated that the team management chose to give him a break, but Wasim Akram, a former cricket player, pointed out that the bowler made the decision to opt out. Wasim questioned Shaheen’s dedication to Test cricket alongside his former bowling partner, Waqar Younis. They said that while people eventually forget about Twenty20 matches, Test cricket is a sport that has been discussed for decades.

“After this, there are five Twenty20 matches in New Zealand, with Shaheen serving as captain. Well, who cares about T20 cricket? Wasim stated on Fox Cricket, “I know it’s there for entertainment and for financial gain for players and cricket boards, but cricketers should know that Test cricket is the ultimate.”

“Nobody knows what happened in the T20 last night if we discuss what happened in this Test in Sydney 20 years ago. That’s the distinction. These individuals need to understand and pick up some knowledge if they want to succeed in the game or become millionaires. The 57-year-old continued, “You can become both, but with a little more sense.”

I thought he would take part in this test. Waqar Younis

Waqar expressed his surprise at Shaheen Afridi decision to withdraw from the third Test, saying he had expected the bowler to play, particularly with Pakistan behind 0-2 and facing a certain defeat. Wasim had earlier asserted that Shaheen Afridi had made the decision to withdraw.

Made me laugh. That really surprises me because I thought he would play in this Test match given his impressive performance in the previous one. According to Waqar, “he began to feel like the old Shaheen Afridi and started to swing the ball and the pace was getting better.”