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Inzamam says his captaincy is safe

Pakistan skipper Inzamam-ul-Haq will record a new century - of test appearances - when he goes out for the toss Thursday in the third and final test match against India.

Starting as a gawky teenager - fast-tracked into the test side by former skipper Imran Khan after watching the youngster bat in the nets - Inzamam has been one of Pakistan's most consistent scorers of the past decade, amassing 7,238 runs with 20 centuries in 99 test matches.
Bracing for the 100th test, Inzamam is perturbed at his team's poor results, conceding seven defeats in the past 10 tests. It has provoked criticism of Inzamam's leadership and placed a question-mark against his continuation as skipper.

Inzamam's Pakistan side suffered a maiden home test and one-day series defeat by India last year. Pakistan now trails 0-1 going into the final test of the current series, with Inzamam is hoping to win and level the series.

Inzamam says he realizes the critics will be baying for his blood if he loses this series, but asserts there's no threat to his captaincy.

"People keep asking for the captain should be removed whenever we lose, but I'm not worried ... My captaincy faces no threat," Inzamam said Wednesday.

"Talk of losing captaincy doesn't bother me, a captain's job is always on the line," he said.

Inzamam, who celebrated his 35th birthday March 3 during this tour, is set to become the fourth Pakistani player to play 100 test matches.

Javed Miandad (124 tests), Wasim Akram (104) and Salim Malik (103) are the only Pakistani cricketers to achieve the distinction before Inzamam, who made his test debut against England at Birmingham in 1992 and took over as Pakistan captain in September 2003 against New Zealand.

"It's a momentous moment for me. I never dreamt of playing 100 tests, but it'll be a bigger occasion if we manage to win this test and level the series," he said.

After the disappointment of the 2003 cricket World Cup, where former champion Pakistan was knocked out in the preliminary stage, Pakistan's cricket bosses decided to groom a young team, which soon led to Inzamam's elevation as skipper.

"The 2003 World Cup is the most bitter memory of my international career," said Inzamam, who rated the 1992 World Cup title triumph in Australia as his most memorable cricket moment. Inzamam was then in his first year in international cricket, having featured in his maiden limited-overs international against the West Indies during the 1991-92 season.

Indian captain Sourav Ganguly complimented his rival skipper ahead of Inzamam's 100th test.

"He's a great player, his statistics speak for his ability," Ganguly said.
Source: foxsports.com/cricket