Will Sourav Ganguly return to the Indian side? Much may depend on how India perform in the next two games © Getty Images

Once again moves are afoot behind the scenes to rehabilitate Sourav Ganguly in the Indian team. But his chances of returning to the Indian team, either for the final two one-dayers against South Africa, or to the Test team that will take on Sri Lanka in December depend heavily on the manner in which the team performs in the next two ODIs against South Africa, a board source revealed to Cricinfo. There has been a buzz around Indian cricket circles that Ganguly's return was imminent in the wake of Ranbir Singh Mahendra, the board president, recently making a few comments in support of Ganguly.

"If India do exceptionally well in the next couple of matches, and beat South Africa convincingly, then again it will be similar to the situation during the Sri Lanka series, and the selectors will find it hard to pick Sourav," the source said.

Mahendra, indirectly reacting to suggestions in the media that Jagmohan Dalmiya had done nothing to help his protégé Ganguly get back in the Indian team, said, "At present nobody wants to disturb the winning combination, otherwise I don't think there's any problem for Sourav to return to the international team.

"Who has ruled him out? Nobody has. This is the handy work of gossip-mongers who believe in sensationalism. He is a great player, he has also been a great captain. We are proud of him and he will definitely make a comeback to the team." It is interesting that the board president should make such an emphatic statement, given that he will be on the committee that will meet before the Test series against Sri Lanka, to decide which players are awarded central contracts for the coming calendar year.

Meanwhile Ganguly, who has maintained a guarded silence with respect to the media, has spoken out soon after Mahendra made his comments, saying that he had "no problem" with Greg Chappell, and told a Kolkata-based newspaper that the infamous spat between them had been "blown out of proportion".

"Why should I have any problem in forging a [fresh] relationship once the selectors bring me back?" he said. "Both Greg and I are mature and can handle situations. The issue got blown out of proportion by those who wanted to sensationalise. I'd been silent all these days as I didn't wish to add to what had been splashed all over. I did so consciously."

However the selection committee's forthcoming two meetings could be crucial in respect to Ganguly's future. At the moment it appears that three selectors of the five are in favour of Ganguly's return to the Test side, as captain. But that could very easily change between now and the next selection meeting, as at least one of the five selectors is a known fence-sitter on this issue, and could swing either way.

The elections for the post of president, and other office bearers, takes place during the Annual General Meeting on November 29 and 30, and this is crucial. If the Jagmohan Dalmiya-backed Mahendra camp is defeated, and Sharad Pawar takes office, it will become infinitely harder for Ganguly to return to the team. "If Ganguly has to make a comeback then now is the time," the source revealed. "If Pawar comes into power it may be too late for Ganguly."