Pakistan fast bowler Shaheen Shah Afridi will likely not play in the third and final Sydney Test of the tour of Australia. Those who know Afridi well said that she would take a break if Pakistan lost both Tests against Australia. They said that Shaheen Afridi was kept fresh by the team’s managers before the T20I series against New Zealand that starts on January 12. The sources also said that Afridi is tired from playing two games in a row.
Sydney Test: Shaheen Afridi may be ‘rested’
The five-day match in Sydney will start on January 3 and end on January 7. It will end a few days before the T20I series. Nathan Lyon got his 500th wicket in a Test match on December 17, when Australia bowled out Pakistan for just 89 runs and won the first Test at Perth by a huge 360 runs. Pakistan had a very slim chance of winning their first Test in Australia since 1995, but the home team’s powerful pace attack and spin bowler ended their hopes.
The game was over in four days. The guests gave up easily when they were trying to score 450 runs to win. Lyon took 2-18. With three wickets each, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood got the job done. Lyon finally hit 500 when he trapped Faheem Ashraf lbw, but there was a painful wait while it was reviewed. After Pakistan’s first innings, Lyon was left stuck on 499.
