Shaheen Afridi was rested from third Test in Sydney.
Shaheen Afridi was rested for the third and final Test in Sydney, as the Pakistan management wanted to manage his workload ahead of the five-T20I series in New Zealand. Shaheen will be captaining Pakistan for the first time in the series in T20Is.
Shaheen picked 8 wickets in the first two Tests, with 7 of them coming in the second match in Melbourne.
“I feel I could have got more wickets. But unfortunately .. take a catch to win the match. Unfortunately, we missed that opportunity most of the time. It has been a good tour so far. The last Test (MCG) was awesome as a bowling unit and as a team,” Shaheen told Channel 7.
“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),” he said.
The pacer also revealed that he follows fellow left-arm pacers Mitchell Starc and Trent Boult very closely.
“I have always watched Mitchell Starc and Trent Boult. These two guys are legends. Every left-arm fast bowler will watch these two. I have been following them… how they work and how they bowl in the games and how they prepare themselves,” he said.
Talking about captaining Pakistan for the first time in T20Is in New Zealand, Shaheen said that it would be a proud moment for him to lead his team.
“It indeed is a proud moment for me to represent Pakistan as a captain, It’s a new challenge for me to manage the team and prepare the team for the upcoming T20 World Cup,” he said.
(Indian Express inputs)