Sydney: Former Pakistan pacer Wasim Akram has questioned Pakistan's decision to rest their pace spearhead Shaheen Afridi for the Sydney Test.
Australia have already taken an unassailable lead of 2-0 in the series and they will look to register a whitewash. Although Pakistan have lost the series, they can still grab some World Test Championship points (WTC). The Men in Green were banking on Shaheen to play a crucial role in the pace department, especially with the new ball, until he was rested.
Reflecting on the decision taken by Pakistan, Akram opined that the cricketers should realise that Test cricket is ultimate.
"Straight after this there are five T20s in New Zealand, and Shaheen's the captain. 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(sic)," Akram told Fox Sports.
With the advent of several T20 leagues across the globe, many cricketers are preferring to feature in the league cricket over playing for their international sides. Akram said the players can become greats of the game as well as become millionaires by striking the right balance between choosing formats.
"If we talk about what happened 20 years ago in this Test in Sydney, nobody knows what happened last night in the T20. That's the difference. These guys have to understand and learn, if you want to be a great at the game or do you want to be a millionaire. You can become both but with a little more sense."
Shaheen finished the first Test of the series with figures of 2/172 but returned to his best in the next game. He produced figures of 6/161 including a four-fer in the second innings.
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