England cricketer Eoin Morgan has swatted away speculation skipper Alastair Cook's days as captain are numbered, saying criticism is little more than "noise".
Cook has come under fire for a recent run of sluggish form, having failed to score a century in 59 innings.
Former Test player Nasser Hussain the latest to take fire in a column for the London Daily Mail.
"It would not be too much of a gamble to replace him now," Hussain wrote on Thursday.
"It should have happened months ago."
But Morgan says such comments are simply `noise' that hardly registers as players gear up for February's World Cup.
"You learn to put aside things you think are noise, and focus on things that you can control," Morgan told AAP.
The Irishman admits the 5-2 one-day series defeat in Sri Lanka had been a low point.
But it didn't mean Cook should be shoved from the captain's seat.
"I certainly have played with Alastair for a long time now and have a huge amount of respect for him," the 28-year-old said.
"But given the run of form that we've had, a lot of people are saying different things.
"For the moment, (he's) obviously still our captain."
Morgan can perhaps empathise with the embattled one-day captain, in that he too has suffered a recent slump in form.
He says he knows he's short on runs, but confident he can tune up by playing for Sydney Thunder in the Big Bash competition.
"I've been working really hard over the last six months or so," he said.
"But things haven't gone my way."
He said he hoped the eventual World Cup squad would arrive in Australia with "a clear mind", ready to win.
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