| By Monica Chadha |
Former captain Ravi Shastri could double up as coach and manager on India's tour of Bangladesh next month following Greg Chappell's resignation.
Shastri, 44, was recommended by former captains at a two-day meeting with Indian cricket chiefs to discuss the team's early exit from the World Cup.
"Shastri has sought some time to reply to our proposal," said an official of India's Board of Control.
It is expected that his appointment will be confirmed on Saturday.
Shastri scored 3,830 runs and claimed 151 wickets during 80 Test matches and also played in 150 one-day internationals.
He led India in one Test match and went on to become a respected television commentator after his retirement in 1992.
The all-rounder is also well known for his feat of hitting spinner Tilak Raj for six sixes in an over in a first-class match in 1985 to become the second man to achieve the feat after Garry Sobers.
India also hope to retain the services of Chappell in an advisory role following his decision to resign as coach.
"As coach, he felt he was partly responsible for the poor performances," said a BCCI statement after conducting a detailed briefing with the Australian.
"He pointed out the shortcomings and suggested measures to improve Indian cricket.
"He emphasised the need to promote youngsters and concentrate on fitness and strenght for the team to do well in fielding and running between the wickets."
Chappell announced his resignation earlier this week, although his contract would have come to an end at the end of the month in any event.
His report to Board officials at Mumbai's Wankhede Stadium did not make reference to individual players, although there have been reports since the team returned from the Caribbean that Chappell was unhappy with the attitude of some senior members of the team.
BCCI president Sharad Pawar complimented Chappell on his "professional approach" and wants him to help in "the implementation of long-term plans".
Team captain Rahul Dravid and chief selector Dilip Vengsarkar also spoke at the meeting.
Vengsarkar called for domestic cricket to be strengthened and said India needed a larger pool of 25 to 30 top-class players from which the national side could be chosen.
And six other former Indian captains, including Kapil Dev, Sunil Gavaskar, Mansur Ali Khan, were also in attendance to help formulate proposals about how to take things forward.
India, runners-up at the 2003 World Cup, did not even make it to the Super 8 stage of the tournament in the West Indies after losing group matches against Bangladesh and Sri Lanka - results which were greeted with outrage among some supporters.
A number of recommendations were made following the first day of the meeting, including proposals to curb the number of big-money endorsement contracts leading players can sign.
From now on, all such contracts must be approved by the BCCI and should not contain any clauses relating to "performance-based incentive".
Members of the Indian team have become fabulously wealthy through sponsorship and product endorsements. Tendulkar, for example, currently has 11 agreements, reportedly worth an estimated $400m.
The other main recommendations from the meeting were:
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