‘It was a tough call but we made that decision…..’ – Mohammad Hafeez breaks silence on Pakistan’s decision to rest Shaheen Afridi for 3rd Test vs Australia

Pakistan team director Mohammad Hafeez defends the decision to rest star cricketer Shaheen Afridi in the third Test match against Australia at the Sydney Cricket Ground. Notably, Pakistan had an awful tour of Australia as they failed to get a single win against Pat Cummins and Co. as they went on to suffer the defeat by 0-3 in three matches of the Test series.

Mohammad Hafeez reveals that when he asked Afridi ahead of the third Test, his body was fully sore. In addition, the 43-year-old cricketer says that he won’t be making any such decisions, which can keep any player out of the game for 6 months to 1 year. The former all-rounder accepted that it was a tough call for them to rest Shaheen, but his health was a priority over any other.

“When I asked him before the third Test, his body was sore. And I need to look after him more than anything. 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,” Mohammad Hafeez said being quoted by Times of India.

Straight after this, there are five T20s in New Zealand, and Shaheen Afridi is the captain: Wasim Akram

Meanwhile, former Pakistan cricketer Wasim Akram also lashed out at the Pakistan team for keeping T20I cricket a priority over Test cricket. Notably, the left-arm pacer will be leading his side in the five matches of the T20I series against New Zealand, slated to commence on January 12.

“Straight after this, there are five T20s in New Zealand, and Shaheen’s the captain. But in 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,” Wasim Akram said.