Mumbai: Shares in Infosys rose for a third straight day on Thursday, following reports that former Chief Executive Nandan Nilekani could return to the board to help the software services exporter ride out its latest controversy.


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The board has been locked in a dispute for months with the company`s founders, led by former chairman Narayana Murthy, who have accused the directors of governance lapses. Vishal Sikka resigned as CEO last week amid what he said were "baseless/malicious and increasingly personal attacks" - sparking a sell-off and wiping billions of dollars off the firm`s market value. 


Nilekani is set to become Infosys` non-executive chairman in the next few days, the Times of India newspaper reported, adding he would come for a predetermined period with the aim to achieve a series of goals including hiring a new CEO.


This follows a request this week from a group of 12 major institutional investors in Infosys to bring Nilekani back to the board to try to quell the feud with the founders.


Television station CNBC-TV18 also said Nilekani was likely to return as the head of the company, which was once the poster child of India`s showpiece IT sector. 


Nilekani, one of the company`s co-founders who served as its CEO from 2002 to 2007, could not be reached for comment.


By 0530 GMT, Infosys shares were trading 2.2 percent higher in a Mumbai market that was little changed.