Hafeez, Azhar boycott training camp over Amir’s inclusion

LAHORE (92 News) – Pakistan cricket has on Thursday braced for another storm when former Twenty20 captain Mohammad Hafeez and current one-day skipper Azhar Ali refused to train with tainted paceman Mohammad Amir in an ongoing fitness camp.

Hafeez had talked about his reservations when Amir was included in the camp and after meeting with Waqar, Hafeez told him categorically that he will not attend any part of the camp in which Amir is present.

One-day captain Azhar Ali also backed Hafeez in boycotting the camp staged to train the team for next month’s tour of New Zealand where they will play three one-day internationals and as many Twenty20 internationals.

Amir, who is in the selection mix after serving a five-year ban for his role in the 2010 spot-fixing scandal, was one of the 26 probables named for the pre-season conditioning camp in the build-up to the New Zealand tour.

Both Hafeez and Azhar were playing domestic matches in Karachi and had missed the first three days of the camp which began on December 21. They were scheduled to join the camp on Thursday, but Agha Akbar confirmed that the pair did not train with the side.