Inzamam keen to lead World XI

With the preliminary squads having been announced for the World XI to take on Australia in September, Inzamam-ul-Haq has revealed how delighted he would be to play the lead role in bringing the Australians down a notch. Inzamam, Michael Vaughan and Graeme Smith are the only current captains included in the 30-man squad, and one of them appears likely to take on the mantle for the three one-day internationals and one-off Test.

Inzamam has 21 centuries in his 100 Tests, but has performed poorly against Australia in recent times. Speaking to The News, he said a chance to lead in the Sydney Test would be something of a dream come true. "Honestly speaking, just being selected for the World XI would be satisfying enough as it would be a recognition of my performances for Pakistan in recent months," he said, "but if I get a chance to lead the World XI then it would be the icing on the cake for me."

The captaincy debate will be settled in the coming months with Pakistan bidding for a first-ever series win in the Caribbean, and Vaughan hoping to wrest back the Ashes from Australia after 16 years of misery. Smith has blotted his copybook with a suspension during the current series in the West Indies, a penalty that might well rule him out of contention for the ODIs against Australia.

"Much will depend on our West Indies series," said Inzamam. "If I'm able to win, I'll be in line to lead the World XI surely." He admitted that the assembly of talent at his disposal was quite awe-inspiring. "It would be a great honour to lead a side with the world's best talent," he said. "Having a batting line-up consisting of Brian Lara, Sachin Tendulkar, Jacques Kallis, Rahul Dravid, Virender Sehwag and bowlers like Muttiah Muralitharan, Shoaib Akhtar, Steve Harmison, Andrew Flintoff, Makhaya Ntini and Irfan Pathan at your disposal, it would make captaincy very interesting and rewarding."

The squads for the Super Series will be pared down to 20 in July and then down to 13 a month before the matches. However, the ICC has confirmed that the captaincy could even be given to someone not currently leading a national side, a move that will surely pique the interest of the likes of Sachin Tendulkar and Brian Lara.