Mohammad Hafeez, the director of the Pakistani team, has justified the choice that Pakistan made to line up without the leading fast bowler Shaheen Shah Afridi in the third Test match. In addition, he stated that the player had not been the one who made the ultimate decision, but rather the management made the decision.

"He bowled really well in those two games and bowled the most of any bowler. When I asked him before the third Test, his body was sore. And I need to look after him more than anything,” Hafeez said.

The little amount of time that passed between the MCG and SCG Tests proved to be an obstacle that Afridi could not overcome. "If someone thinks their body is sore and they can't deliver the best, we need to look after the career of the individual. I will never make a decision where a player can lose his career for six months or a year. It was a tough call but we made that decision for the betterment of the players. Because we cannot make that decision at the cost of a player's career,” Hafeez added.

However, Pakistan lost the third Test also by 8 wickets and got whitewashed by 3-0 in the series.