Reports: Sourav Ganguly could replace Ravi Shastri as Team Director

Sourav Ganguly looks set to take a hands-on role with the Indian team

With India’s squad for the upcoming Bangladesh series set to be announced on May 20, there are expected to be a few changes in the playing personnel with several first-choice players reportedly keen on a rest at least during the 3-match One-Day International (ODI) series that follows the one-off Test. It has now emerged that there could be a change in the support staff as well with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) being keen on Sourav Ganguly replacing Ravi Shastri as the team director.

According to a report in the Hindustan Times, Shastri is seen as a supporter of former BCCI president N Srinivasan and the new BCCI regime, with Jagmohan Dalmiya as president, is intent on doing away with his services. The 52-year-old was appointed as Director of Cricket following India’s 3-1 Test series defeat to England last year and has been with the Indian team ever since.

"The [BCCI] president believes Shastri has been pro-Srinivasan. He does not see Shastri as a long-term member of the team. He is very keen on having Sourav Ganguly as a part of the national set-up," a BCCI source said.

Ganguly has been linked to several roles with the Indian team over the last few weeks, ranging from head coach to High Performance Manager, which strongly indicates that the former Indian captain is likely to be involved in some capacity or the other. Apart from having had the experience of playing for India for over a decade, the fact that he had a tremendous overseas record as Indian captain is likely to hold him in good stead.

"Ganguly knows how to win abroad. He is India's most successful captain away from home. Shastri has not got us the results we wanted, so we could ask Ganguly to step in," the source added.

As far as Shastri is concerned, the source said: “it is unlikely Shastri will go to Bangladesh, so he could go back to his media commitments."