India vs South Africa

‘T20 cricket who cares’- Pakistan’s legendary pacer Wasim Akram gives earful to Shaheen Afridi on prioritizing T20 over 3rd Test

Pakistan’s premier pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi was left out of Pakistan’s playing XI for the third test against Australia citing rest after a gruelling workload in the first two tests. But the omission of the left-hand pacer from the side sparked a debate among fans and experts on whether Shaheen has been rested or dropped from the side.

Given the fact that Pakistan has already lost the series by losing the initial two Tests and Pakistan will be playing a five-match T20I series against New Zealand in which Shaheen Shah Afridi is set to captain Pakistan for the first time, it could be said that Shaheen is rested for the third test. 

But the decision of Shaheeh being rested from the third test has irked Pakistan’s legendary pacer Wasim Akram who is currently pursuing a commentary stint with Fox Sports. Wasim Akram said that the decision is not of the Pakistan management but is Shaheen’s call and went on to say that it is for him to decide on whether he wants to be remembered as a great cricketer or just to be a millionaire.

Wasim Akram’s take on Shaheen’s omission from the third Test

Akram was quoted as saying, “(the 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”.

“Straight after this there are five T20s in New Zealand, and Shaheen’s the captain,” 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, he reiterated.

Wasim Akram further added, “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.”

“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,” he concluded.