Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, VVS Laxman Agree to be Team India"s Advisors; No Word on Dravid

Comeback of the partnership that shook the world! Sachin and Sourav (in pic) will be joined by VVS Laxman in the BCCI’s advisory committee. All three have agreed to help the Board improve the state of cricket in the country.

© AFP

New Delhi: After weeks of speculation, Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly and VVS Laxman have agreed to be on BCCI’s advisory committee, according to Board secretary Anurag Thakur. (Related: Will Ganguly become Team India’s new High Performance Director?)

Thakur tweeted that former captains Ganguly and Tendulkar will form the all-important committee that will advise the Indian Cricket Board. While Laxman will be the third man, Rahul Dravid is conspicuous by his absence. (Also read: ‘Indian cricket team full of superstars, don’t need a coach’)

I welcome & thank @sachin_rt Saurav Ganguly @VVSLaxman281 fr joining @BCCI.Privileged to hv yur guidance & support,as we start a new inning!

— Anurag Thakur (@ianuragthakur) June 1, 2015

It is still not clear what roles the veteran superstars will play. It has been widely speculated that Ganguly will become Team India’s High Performance Manager. However, Ganguly or Tendulkar, despite their heavy personal assignments that includes media, is unlikely to be a coach.

Thakur will be talking to Tendulkar, Laxman and Ganguly on Monday to discuss details. The troika is expected to advise on selection of coaches and other matters for the development of cricket. Interestingly, former Test captain Anil Kumble is already heading BCCI’s technical committee.

It is not clear if Ganguly will accompany the Indian Team on their upcoming tour of Bangladesh. The team flies out to Dhaka from Kolkata on June 7. The first Test starts June 10. India and Bangladesh also play three ODIs.

There is a question mark on Ravi Shastri’s role. The former all-rounder was India’s Team Director during the World Cup and is not keen on a short-term role.

In all likelihood, India will travel to Bangladesh without a head coach. The support staff may just comprise Sanjay Bangar, Bharat Arun (bowling) and R. Sridhar (fielding) – all three have been part of Team India in recent times.