By Prashant K. Nanda,

New Delhi, Sep 14 (IANS) Brazilian football and Indian cricket will soon enter the classrooms of the prestigious Indian Institute of Management-Ahmedabad (IIM-A).

"Sports, especially cricket and football, are becoming too competitive and management students can learn from both disciplines. Once prepared, the modules will be a part of our one-year programme for executives," said IIM-A director Bakul H. Dholakia.

"The unforeseen turnarounds, huge competition, excellent leadership and teamwork are an integral part of sports like cricket and football and we are developing the modules to imbibe the qualities collectively," Dholakia told IANS.

Dholakia was here this week to sign an agreement with IT training major NIIT to start short-term courses through virtual classrooms.

"Did you notice the type of expectations pinned on Brazil at the World Cup? Proper management and not succumbing to pressure are two other traits that we want to teach our students," the director added.

He said cricket drives millions in India crazy and "our students must learn from the sport on how to cope with pressure".

"The idea was mooted by cricket commentator Harsha Bhogle, who is also an IIM-A graduate. Our professors are working closely with him and hope the modules will be ready in a few months," he added.

Some officials of IIM-A said former Indian cricket captain Sourav Ganguly and Italian football star Marcos Cafu will feature extensively in the modules.

But the director said: "I won't take any name now but authorities concerned are in touch with people and teams."

Last month the prestigious institute had given a thumbs up to the growth trajectory of Indian Railways and presented two case studies on ways to sustain it.

The institute has invited Railway Minister Lalu Prasad to speak about managerial skills to its students.

Lalu Prasad is credited with turning around the fortunes of Indian Railways, one of the largest transport systems in the world, which ended fiscal 2005-06 with a healthy cash reserve of Rs.110 billion.