Pakistan veteran all-rounder Shoaib Malik has brushed aside rumours that he is now emerging as a real candidate to captain Pakistan in the International Cricket Council (ICC) World Cup.
Malik — who captained the Men in Green in place of suspended Sarfraz Ahmed — led the team to an eight-wicket victory over South Africa in the fourth One-Day International (ODI) of the five-match series on Sunday.
The wicketkeeper-batsman was awarded four-match suspension for breaching International Cricket Council (ICC)’s code of conduct over racism and is now out of the rest of South Africa tour.
When asked about how he is feeling about the captaincy role during the press talk after the match, the 36-year-old said: "When I got to the ground, I came to know that I was captaining as the decision was taken in the morning. My responsibility is to do whatever the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and the team management is asking me to do. Other than that, I really don’t know about what is happening.”
Malik, who was captaining the side for the first time in nearly a decade and has experience of 278 ODIs, 35 Tests and 108 T20Is under his belt, termed the team’s performance as satisfactory.
"Overall, it was a [good] all-round performance and I feel it will do a world of good in our dressing room as well," he said. “The goal is to give your best shot and I am not putting any pressure on any player. However, it is imperative that whoever is in good form, they must stand up and do well for the team."
The Multan Sultans captain also praised the bowling attack, who according to him set the tone for a famous win on Sunday.
"I must highlight the way all of them [bowlers] bowled today, it was exceptional and they set the tone [for this win],” he said. “The pitch was a little damp. Pacers started off well but Hashim [Amla] and Faf [du Plessis] played really well. It was at that time when I decided to introduce spin as I realised the track was not really that good for batting. They got us important wickets of Faf and Amla, which I believe was a turning point in the match.”