Sourav Ganguly set for administrative stint with Team India

Sourav Ganguly set for administrative stint with Team IndiaThe BCCI are in need of a strategist who will improve Team India's overseas record, for which they are set to lure in former captain Sourav Ganguly.

The BCCI will unveil its new Cricket Advisory Committee and Ganguly will have an integral role to play. He will either take up the post of the Team Director or the High Performance Manager, according to reports.

In spite of some BCCI members in favour of scrapping the Team Director's position, the post will be retained until the Zimbabwe tour at least.


Ravi Shastri who is the current acting Team Director of Team India, is set to vacate his post as he wouldn't be keen on taking the job unless he is retained for a longer duration.

Ganguly on the other hand, who will most likely travel with the team for the Bangladesh tour, has told the board that he would only be interested in a BCCI position if he is offered a long term contract.

The former skipper who guided India to the 2003 World Cup final, wants to prepare a team for the 2019 World Cup.

In order to acknowledge Ravi Shastri's good work with Team India as the Team Director, the BCCI is likely award him with a position in the Cricket Advisory Committee.

The Board Secretary is also waiting for one final chat with Sachin Tendulkar before they give the final shape to the all-powerful committee.

Sourav Ganguly who was reportedly given the choice of becoming the Team Director or the High Performance Director, will have to vacate his post as joint-secretary of the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) if he chooses to take up the BCCI post.

Sourav Ganguly who had an illustrous career with India on the field, is set for an Administrative stint with Team India.

Why Sourav Ganguly is the best fit for the role of Team India director

Is Dada a good bet for Team India?

With his unbridled aggression and never-say-die attitude, Sourav Ganguly led India to many famous victories and is hailed as the captain who taught India to win overseas. With this current Indian squad losing 17 out of their last 30 overseas Tests played since 2010, is Dada the right man to turn it around?

While Ganguly’s credentials as captain are never in doubt, there are questions about his coaching ability. Unlike Dravid or Tendulkar who have been mentors for Rajasthan Royals and Mumbai Indians, respectively, Ganguly has been more involved in administrative duties since his retirement and has not really displayed much affinity towards coaching.

On the other hand, it could also be argued that with a good supporting team of coaches, Ganguly’s job would be more in line with the kind of role Ravi Shastri played – leaving the technical aspects to the coaches and ensuring that the team stays inspired and motivated. Players like Harbhajan Singh and Virender Sehwag have constantly lauded Ganguly for his motivational abilities and it would be a good position for Dada to be in, provided of course, his team of coaches can look after the technical side of things.

If Ganguly is appointed, another challenge for him would be the kind of relationship he forges with  Virat Kohli, the current Indian Test captain. Both are similar temperamentally – they wear theiremotions on their sleeves and are not afraid to show it on the field. The presence of two similarly passionate individuals in the team unit make the team implode. Ganguly could perhaps take a leaf out of John Wright’s book and be the kind of mentor to Kohli that Wright was to him, with great success.

Sourav Ganguly would be a great India coach: Brett Lee

MELBOURNE: Former Australia pacer Brett Lee feels ex-India skipper Sourav Ganguly has a huge wealth of knowledge and would do "a great job" if he is appointed as India's new head coach.

READ ALSO: 'Decision on Ganguly to be taken soon'

Zimbabwean coach Duncan Fletcher's tenure expired with India's semifinal exit from the World Cup in March and BCCI will name its new coach and revamped support staff before the team departs for its tour of Bangladesh on June 7.

"I think he would do a great job because he's got a great wealth of knowledge behind him with so many games of Test match cricket, one-day cricket and Twenty20 cricket," Lee was quoted as saying by Cricket Australia (CA).

"He's been there and done it all. Will that make him a good coach? I don't know. If he's hungry for it, with his wealth of knowledge he could definitely pass it on. Having the right balance as a coach is the most important thing.

"(Like) people being able to play their natural role, and that all started with Trevor Bayliss. He's the guy that will allow any player in the team to play their natural role.
"If Sourav Ganguly can give these (Indian) players confidence, I think he'd do a good job if he got it," said the 38-year-old fast bowler.

There is a huge speculation that Ganguly could either become chairman of advisory panel, High Performance Manager, Team Director or the chief coach of the national cricket team.

The 42-year-old cricketer, who is currently the joint secretary of Cricket Association of Bengal, represented India in 113 Tests and 311 ODIs, scoring 18,575 runs in both formats of the game, in a career spanning over 16 years.

He captained the Indian team for almost five years, taking the side to the final of the 2003 ODI World Cup.