AUS vs PAK 3rd Test: Pakistan Greats Wasim Akram & Waqar Younis Baffled By Decision To Rest Shaheen Shah Afridi

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Pakistan pace greats Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis criticised the decision to rest fast bowler Shaheen Shah Afridi in the third and final Test against Australia at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) in Sydney, starting on Wednesday (January 3).

Pakistan, who are already 0-2 down in the Test series, rested Shaheen from the final Test citing workload management, but Akram felt the decision in solely on the young pacer, who is set to lead the T20I side in the five-match series against New Zealand.

Akram warned players to decide if they want to be the greats of their sport or a millionaire by playing T20 cricket after Shaheen was rested from the final Test at Sydney, which is also Australia opener David Warner's farewell Test.

Wasim claimed that decision "had nothing to do with the management" and was "solely [Shaheen's] decision". He warned players to decide "if you want to be a great of the game or do you want to be a millionaire" while prioritising formats.

"Straight after this there are five T20s in New Zealand, and Shaheen's the captain," Wasim said on Fox Cricket as quoted by ESPNCricinfo.

"But T20 cricket, who cares? I understand, it is there for entertainment and it is 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," he concluded.

Meanwhile, Wasim's new ball partner, Waqar was also surprised with the decision of resting the pace spearhead, saying that Shaheen's absence "made him laugh" and he expected him to play because he was looking great in the second Test with his swing and pace.

"That is 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," Waqar said.