Coca-Cola shows the door to Sachin, only to welcome Sourav!

Coca-Cola India has signed former Indian cricket team captain Sourav Ganguly as its social ambassador for three years.

The beverage maker signed Ganguly for a three-year deal ending in 2017. Earlier, Sachin Tendulkar was the social ambassador whose contract ended last year.

"Ganguly is on board and a part of the team that will lead our charge towards the FIFA Under-17 World Cup football 2017," said Coca-Cola India and South West Asia vice-president, marketing and commercial Debabrata Mukherjee.

Ganguly will also lead Coca-Cola's football programmes and run various grassroots football activities.

Coca-Cola is a partner of the 2017 tournament to be held in India.

"This deal should give Coca-Cola bigger clout in sports circles - mainly cricket and football. Sourav has a clean, consistent image," said an official directly aware of the developments.

As per industry experts, getting Ganguly should pay off.

"Sourav is on the IPL panel, he's a commentator, he's visible consistently, and he's on prime-time news. Brands want names that are visible and in the news. The move makes a lot of sense for Coca-Cola," Shailendra Singh, joint managing director of entertainment and sports marketing firm Percept, told the financial daily.

Meanwhile, 43-year-old Ganguly is tipped to become the coach of the Indian cricket team and he also co-owns the Atletico de Kolkata football team, a franchise of the Indian Super League, which won the inaugural season in 2014. Ganguly is also the joint secretary of the Cricket Association of Bengal.

(Image: Indiatimes)