Sources said the Kochi franchise is not giving up hope to persuade Ganguly to take up a position in team think-tank though he had recently said that he would still want to play in the IPL.
"He (Ganguly) has got long years of experience at the international level as player and leader. He will be an asset to the team in any capacity. So, we are still hoping that we can persuade him to take up a position in the team management. We would like him to be involved in building the team for future," a team source said.
The Kochi team, which will be led by former Sri Lanka captain Mahela Jayawardene, is set to begin its recruitment drive of domestic players from Kerala and neighbouring states, the source added.
Jayawardene, who was bought by the franchise at USD 1.5 million, is expected to be officially named as captain soon and that will set the ball rolling for team building for IPL IV. At last month's players' auction, Kochi successfully bid for Team India pace bowler S Sreesanth and Sri Lankan spin legend Muthiah Muralitharan among others.
Published 12 February 2011, 13:50 IST