Hafeez not up for full-time captaincy

Pakistan all-rounder and stand-in skipper Mohammad Hafeez has rubbished speculation surrounding that he is running to take over captaincy from Azhar Ali in ODI format on a permanent basis.

The 36-year-old guided Pakistan to an impressive six-wicket win against Australia in the second ODI in the absence of Azhar, who has been ruled out of the series due to hamstring injury.

Hafeez’s 72-run knock not only inspired Pakistan to level the series, but also gave birth to the idea that he should take over the armband permanently from Azhar.

When quizzed by the reports if he has any plans on succeeding Azhar, Hafeez shut down them saying that Azhar is the team’s captain and that 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,” the Express Tribune quoted Hafeez as saying.

IMPROVEMENT

Hafeez insisted that Azhar’s captaincy has been improving with each passing day and that one could observe it in the West Indies series.

“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,” he added.