Rahul Dravid

Calcutta: Rahul Dravid remains strongly placed to become the Team India captain in both forms ? ODIs and Tests.

However, jockeying for Sourav Ganguly is on the agenda for some with influence in the Board. With 21 wins, he’s our most successful captain.

In fact, Sourav has led in 49 of the last 54 Tests and was at the helm in Zimbabwe, earlier this season, when India won their first series outside the sub-continent in 19 years.

That’s to be projected as a huge plus. As also that he got a hundred in his second last Test innings, in Bulawayo.

Dravid, though, has considerable support among the five selectors and (as important) is backed by coach Greg Chappell.

Unless the meeting is deferred, everything will be clear on Tuesday, when the national selectors name the captain for the three-Test series against Sri Lanka.

Kiran More and his colleagues are going to meet in Chennai, venue of the third ODI versus South Africa.

For now, Dravid’s appointment is till the end of the ongoing series ? November 28.

“The Board has no plans to give a directive and the selectors have the freedom to make their own choice? It’s unthinkable that Dravid won’t continue,” a top source told The Telegraph.

Speaking on Monday evening, he added: “Dravid hasn’t just led well and himself been among the runs in ODIs, he has forged a good relationship with the coach. After what happened with Sourav, that’s important?”

One expects East’s representative Pranab Roy to advocate Sourav’s case aggressively, but the odds appear insurmountable.

Unless what seems almost impossible happens, it’s debatable whether Sourav will ever get to captain for the 50th time in Tests.

However, while Sourav appears set to lose the Test captaincy as well, he’s definitely going to make the squad.

As reported in these columns, the first Test against Lanka ? in Chennai, from December 2 ? will see Sourav’s comeback to international cricket.

That should also mark the return of Anil Kumble and V.V.S. Laxman.

Kumble has recovered from a back problem and takes the field in a Karnataka versus Railways Ranji match on the day ? Wednesday ? the selectors meet to pick the squad for the first (and, possibly, the second as well) Test.

The captaincy apart, what’s of much interest is whether the in-form Zaheer Khan is going to make a comeback and whether Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who has transformed our ODI approach, will get his maiden Test call.

The selectors are meeting in Dinesh Karthik’s hometown, but Dhoni has reason to be very hopeful.

Cricket has much to do with confidence and, today, that’s a feature of every step taken by Indian cricket’s newest pin-up hero.