Pakistan's team director and head coach for the Australia tour, Mohammad Hafeez has come in support of team management's decision to rest Shaheen Afridi in the third Test at Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG). Hafeez revealed his conversation with Afridi before the third Test.
"He bowled really well in those two games and bowled the most of any bowler," he said in the post-match presentation. “When I asked him before the third Test, his body was sore. And I need to look after him more than anything.”
In Afridi's absence, Pakistan went into the encounter with an inexperienced bowling attack. Afridi bowled close to 100 overs in the first two Tests which is more than off-spinner Nathan Lyon.
"If someone thinks their body is sore and they can't deliver the best, we need to look after the career of the individual. I will never make a decision where a player can lose his career for six months or a year. It was a tough call but we made that decision for the betterment of the players. Because we cannot make that decision at the cost of a player's career," Hafeez added.
Earlier, accusations were floating around that Afridi chose to warm the benches as his priority is the upcoming five-T20I series against New Zealand starting January 12.
Former Pakistan bowlers Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis claimed that it was Afridi's decision and not the team management's.
"Let's not pretend this has anything to do with the management," Akram said on Fox Cricket. "It is solely Shaheen's decision. "Straight after this there are five T20s in New Zealand, and Shaheen's the captain. But T20 cricket, who cares? 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."
On the other hand, Younis said that the left-arm pacer's absence "made me laugh" and termed it as "a real shocker".
"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," Younis said.
In Afridi’s absence, Aamer Jamal starred for Pakistan with a six-wicket haul in the first innings. David Warner retired on a high as Australia won the Test by eight wickets to complete cleansweep.
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