Pakistan's main pace bowler, Shaheen Shah Afridi, might sit out the third and final Test against Australia in Sydney as part of workload management.

This decision follows the criticism faced by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) after pacer Khurram Shahzad suffered a rib cage injury, which ruled him out of the rest of the two Tests in Australia.

Shahzad had an impressive debut for Pakistan, taking five wickets during Pakistan’s 360-run loss to Australia in the first Test in Perth. On the other hand, Afridi took only two wickets in the Perth Test.

Well, the PCB is thinking that if Pakistan suffers another defeat in the Boxing Day Test at the MCG, Afridi might be rested for the Sydney Test to keep him fresh for the five-match T20I series in New Zealand, which will be his first assignment as Pakistan skipper.

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PCB sources revealed that the Pakistan team management aims to carefully handle the workload of their pace bowlers, especially Afridi, given that the ICC T20 World Cup 2024 is less than six months away in the West Indies and the USA. Pakistan’s New Zealand T20I tour is crucial for the team.

The PCB source was quoted as saying by PTI: “The backlash the board and management are facing over the handling of Khurrum's workload has set off panic buttons, plus the form of Shaheen has added to the concerns of the team management and selectors.

It is in the pipeline that if Shaheen doesn't do well in the Melbourne Test and the team ends up on the losing side, he will be rested for the final Test so that he is fresh for the T20I series in New Zealand.”

(With PTI Inputs)