Sports: Shaheen Afridi is out of the Pakistan team, why was this decision taken?

PC: tv9hindi

After losing the Test matches against Australia in Perth and Melbourne, Pakistan is now preparing for the final match to be held in Sydney. The competition is scheduled to start on January 3 and just before the match, Pakistan captain Shan Masood has taken a shocking decision by dropping Shaheen Afridi.

Why were Shaheen and Imam removed?

The decision to exclude Shaheen Afridi and Imam-ul-Haq from the playing eleven raises important questions. Imam-ul-Haq has been dropped due to not getting a place in the team due to poor form. Meanwhile, Shan Masood said that Shaheen Afridi bowled the most overs last year and now he needs some rest. However, it is important to note that Shaheen Afridi's performances have been quite poor.

2023 was very bad for Shaheen.

Shaheen Afridi's performance in Test format in 2023 was very poor. He managed to take only 14 wickets in the four Test matches played. His performance was lacklustre in 2022 as well, taking 13 wickets in four Test matches. His performance in the last two years has not been good enough to secure a place in the playing eleven. Besides, his bowling speed has also reduced considerably.

Entry of Syam Ayyub:

Pakistan has selected 21-year-old Syam Ayyub for the Sydney Test. Recently, this batsman performed well in the Pakistan Cup, due to which he got a place in the Test team.

Pakistan's playing eleven - Abdullah Shafiq, Syam Ayyub, Shan Masood, Babar Azam, Saud Shakeel, Mohammad Rizwan, Salman Ali Aga, Sajid Khan, Hasan Ali, Mir Hamza, Aamir Jamal.