- Mohammad Hafeez explains Shaheen Afridi’s rest in the Sydney Test.
- Afridi was rested to avoid injury due to his heavy workload.
- Absence is not related to T20 cricket.
Mohammad Hafeez, the head coach and team director of Pakistan, has given details on the reasoning behind Shaheen Afridi’s rest for the Sydney Test.
In the post-match press conference that followed the third Test, Hafeez stressed how crucial it is to control Afridi’s workload in order to avoid causing any physical harm to him.
“We took the decision to rest Shaheen and manage his workload because we didn’t want his body to be adversely affected. In the last one year since his return from injury, he has worked hard, and the workload on him has been massive. We wanted to give him a break and manage his workload. I don’t know what’s happened previously, but at this time, I wanted to make sure that no bowler’s career is spoiled due to their workload not being managed,” Mohammad Hafeez said.
The former all-rounder confirmed that Afridi’s absence was not because he played T20 cricket, despite rumors to the contrary.
“Shaheen did not rest because of T20 cricket at all. It’s not because he wants to play T20 cricket. It’s clear that his body was a bit sore. He wasn’t feeling very comfortable that his body would be able to respond appropriately. As the team director, I have to ensure that no player goes into a zone where he suffers an injury. So before that happens, I wanted to ensure he has enough time to recover,” he said.
With David Warner hitting a thunderous 57 in his final Test match in Sydney on Saturday, Australia defeated Pakistan by eight wickets to win the series 3-0.
Just 11 runs shy of victory, Warner was removed in front of a cheering crowd at his home Sydney Cricket Ground while playing in his 112th Test match.
Australia finished at 130-2, with Steve Smith on four and Marnus Labuschagne undefeated at 62 in his 19th Test half-century.
Following their victory in Melbourne over the Christmas break to secure the current series, it was Australia’s 17th straight Test victory over Pakistan.
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