Pakistan pacer Shaheen Afridi opened up on team management's decision to rest him for the ongoing third and final Test of the series against Australia at Sydney Cricket Ground on Wednesday, 3rd January.
On the eve of the 3rd Test, Pakistan announced their Playing XI but surprisingly, Shaheen Afridi's name was missing in the list. Instead, debutant Saim Ayub was picked in his place for the final Test of the ongoing series in Sydney.
Speaking to Cricket 7 on the sidelines of Day 1 of the Sydney Test, Shaheen Afridi said that the team management decided to rest him for the final Test as he bowled a lot of overs in first two Tests in
"I played two games, and a lot of overs to be honest. They're just managing my workload, the medical team and team management decided to take a rest for this (Test)."
In the ongoing Test tour of Australia, Shaheen Afridi scalped 8 wickets in two Tests. He registered the bowling figures of 4/74 in the Melbourne Test of the ongoing series in Down Under. The 24-year-old had spent 99.2 overs in bowling across two Tests in the three-match series.
'Catches win matches' - Shaheen Afridi on missed chances on the field
Pakistan cricket team was often trolled for their misfielding, especially dropping the catches that took the innings away from them.
Shaheen Afridi didn't shy away from admitting Pakistan's missed chances in the ongoing Test tour of Australia. The 23-year-old almost provided a breakthrough for visitors until Shafique Abdullah dropped David Warner's catch at slip in MCG Test.
"I think that I can take more wickets, but unfortunately, catches win matches, and unfortunately we missed those opportunities on the field most of the time." Afridi said.
"It has been a good tour so far and the last game that we played was quite awesome. As a bowling unit, and as a team, we gave our best, the result was not in our hands, but we tried," he added.
Shaheen Afridi will return to action for the T20I series against New Zealand, wherein he will be leading Pakistan as a captain of the format.
Meanwhile, Shan Masood-led side is currently trailing 0-2 in the ongoing three-match Test series against Australia. Pakistan are on 18-match winning streak on Australian soil in Tests.
