Renowned Pakistan commentator Bazid Khan has highlighted the double standards shown by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) in handling the workload of pacers Shaheen Afridi and Haris Rauf.
Shaheen, 23, will not play the final Test against Australia in Sydney and has been rested ahead of the T20I series against New Zealand.
Bazid, son of legendary Pakistan captain Majid Khan, took to X (formerly Twitter), and stressed that PCB expressed disappointment when Rauf chose T20s over Tests, yet they themselves rest their premier fast bowler for T20Is.
“PCB were so disappointed when Haris Rauf refused to play Tests because he wanted to play to T20s instead. Now PCB themselves rest their premier fast bowler so that he can play T20Is,” Bazid Khan wrote.
Remember, Pakistan chief selector Wahab Riaz, while announcing the squad for the Australia Tests, criticised Haris Rauf for opting out of the Test squad for workload reasons.
“Haris Rauf was initially picked for the tour but he refused to partake in it, citing workload concerns. We spoke to Haris about this tour two days ago, and he gave his consent to playing Tests for Pakistan.
"However, he changed his mind last night and didn't want to be a part of this Australia Test series,” Wahab had said.
Shaheen Afridi has bowled 305 overs in international cricket. Following Afridi, Haris Rauf has delivered the second-highest number of overs for Pakistan during this period, amounting to 117.2 overs.
Pakistan has made two changes for the third and final Test of the series against Australia, commencing tomorrow at the Sydney Cricket Ground.
Saim Ayub will debut, replacing opener Imam-ul-Haq in the lineup. Meanwhile, spinner Sajid Khan has been included in place of Shaheen.
Pakistan: Saim Ayub, Abdullah Shafique, Shan Masood (capt), Babar Azam, Saud Shakeel, Mohammad Rizwan, Agha Salman, Hasan Ali, Sajid Khan, Mir Hamza, Aamer Jamal.
- Shaheen Afridi