Hafeez dismisses speculation he is after permanent captaincy; backs Azhar Ali

Former captain feels it is unfair to question the team leadership at this time

Veteran all-rounder Mohammad Hafeez has rubbished speculation that he is in the running to take over from Azhar Ali as Pakistan's ODI format on a permanent basis.

The 36-year-old Hafeez, as stand-in captain, led the Men in Green to an impressive win over Australia in the second ODI in the absence of Azhar, whose hamstring injury has ruled him out of tomorrow's third ODI as well.

Hafeez's 72-run knock coupled with the team's victory has given birth to the idea that he should take over the armband permanently from Azhar, whose leadership has been under scrutiny for some time.

On the eve of the third ODI, Hafeez shut down a reporter who enquired if he has any designs on succeeding Azhar, declaring that Azhar is the team’s captain and everyone in the team wants him back.

“I think talking about captaincy here is irrelevant. Our captain is Azhar [Ali], and we want him back in the team as soon as possible," said Hafeez.

“I always believe that every player in the team has to back whoever the captain is, as it is about the Pakistan team, and not any individual. Azhar’s captaincy is improving day by day, which he showed in the West Indies series as well.”

Hafeez further said that the team’s morale has received a huge boost following their first win at the MCG against the hosts in more than three decades.

“Our confidence is high after the win,” said Hafeez. “We are playing very good cricket and the team is focused on the job in hand. We know we have to perform in all departments.”

The Sargodha-born also praised left-arm pacer Junaid Khan, who made a stunning comeback to the national team after a gap of more than a year.

“We were looking forward for his performance, and he delivered,” he added. “We knew that he is capable of performing in any conditions. Hopefully, he will continue to perform well, and we will continue to support him.”

Hafeez also hinted that Pakistan's XI in tomorrow's match could be unchanged from the side that defeated Australia three days ago, which means there will be no place for pacer Wahab Riaz.

“We are happy with the team’s combination,” he said. “We haven’t yet had a chance to look at the pitch, but we have some idea about what team combination will be tomorrow.”