'A real shocker': Wasim and Waqar slam Afridi's Sydney omission

'A real shocker': Wasim and Waqar slam Afridi's Sydney omission

Former Pakistan fast bowlers Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis were scathing in their criticism of the decision to rest Shaheen Shah Afridi from the third Test at the SCG.

Wasim claimed the decision "had nothing to do with the management" and was "solely [Shaheen's] decision", warning players more broadly they had to decide "if you want to be a great of the game or do you want to be a millionaire" when it came to deciding which format to prioritise.

"Straight after this 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."

Waqar was similarly surprised, saying Afridi's absence "made me laugh".

"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."