Wasim, Waqar shocked by Shaheen Afridi’s exclusion from Sydney Test

Former Pakistan pace bowlers Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis strongly criticized the decision to rest Shaheen Shah Afridi from the third Test at the SCG.

Wasim insisted that the choice was solely Afridi's and not influenced by the management, emphasizing that players must decide whether they aspire to be cricket greats or prioritize financial gains.

"Straight after this [Sydney Test] there are five T20s in New Zealand, and Shaheen's the captain," Wasim said on Fox Cricket.

"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," Wasim added.

Waqar echoed these sentiments, expressing surprise at Afridi's absence and emphasizing the importance of Test cricket over shorter formats.

"We play for Test match cricket," Waqar said, talking to Channel 7 on the morning of the first day.

"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. 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.