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Pakistan's premier paceman Shaheen Afridi's decision to rest from the 3rd Test against Australia didn't sit well with two of the greatest fast bowlers of all time - Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis. The two former Pakistani speedsters launched a brutal attack on Afridi for his shocking decision to skip the final Test match of the series against the Baggy Greens in Sydney. Akram affirmed that players should focus on playing the 'ultimate' format of the sport and shouldn't just prioritise money.
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"It had nothing to do with the management. It was solely (Shaheen's) decision," Akram said on Fox Cricket.
"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.
"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," Akram added.
Waqar's sentiments were similar to those of his former teammate and he deemed Shaheen's decision as a 'shocker'.
"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," Waqar told Channel 7.
"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.
For the New Year's Test, Pakistan replaced Afridi with off-spinner Sajid Khan. Sajid was brought into the national squad following injury concerns with Abrar Ahmed.
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