For the third and final Test match between Australia and Pakistan at the Sydney Cricket Ground, Shaheen Shah Afridi was left off the field. As opposed to the elite speedster, the visitors brought in off-spinner Sajid Khan. The 23-year-old took eight wickets at an amazing economy rate of 3.35 in the two games played in Perth and Melbourne.
Pakistan’s head coach and director of men’s teams, Mohammed Hafeez, said Shaheen was given a vacation to “manage his workload.” During the Sydney Test, Shaheen also said that the team management had decided to sit him for the final game of the series.
“In order to prevent any negative effects on Shaheen’s physique, we decided to rest him and monitor his workload.
He has put in a tremendous amount of work in the past year since his injury return, and he has worked hard. According to India Today, Hafeez stated, “We wanted to give him a break and manage his workload.”
“I’m not sure what has happened in the past, but right now I wanted to make sure that no bowler’s career is ruined because their workload wasn’t managed,” he continued.
Pakistan was defeated 3-0 during its tour in Australia.
In the three-match series, Pakistan lost the third and final Test by eight wickets, marking their 17th consecutive Test match defeat on Australian soil. After winning the toss in the third Test, Pakistan elected to bat first and amassed 313 runs in the first inning. Salman Ali Agha of Pakistan scored fifty runs, while Pat Cummins of Australia claimed a fifer.
Aamir Jamal took six wickets in the second inning to help Pakistan bowl Australia out at 299 runs. After that, Pakistan fought back and succeeded in establishing a target of just 130 runs. After that, half-centuries from David Warner (57) and Marnus Labuschagne (62*) gave the hosts the momentum they needed to successfully pursue the target.