Ashes hero Andrew Flintoff [Images] is in line to lead England [Images] in the first Test against India if skipper Michael Vaughan [Images] and his deputy Marcus Trescothick [Images] are unable to play in the game starting on Wednesday in Nagpur.

With Trescothick, who deputised for the injured Vaughan in the warm-up match in Vadodara, flying home for "personal reasons" and Vaughan nursing a sore knee, Flintoff may go out for the toss with Rahul Dravid [Images] in Nagpur, a report in 'The Sunday Observer' said.

In this scenario, Flintoff, who has had a wretched start to the tour with the bat, seems all set to take over the captain's mantle. The only other contender would have been Andrew Strauss [Images] but he has also been afflicted by a dip in form, the report said.

"And there are more complications on the horizon. Flintoff intends to return home for the birth of his second child, around the time of the third Test. Whether elevation to the England captaincy would affect that decision remains to be seen," the report said.

Another report in the same newspaper said if Vaughan's knee was always going to be vulnerable, an early decision should be taken to withdraw him from one-day cricket and therefore the World Cup in 2007 to prolong his Test career.