ACB denies Marsh takeover from Kapil

The Australian Cricket Board has denied media reports that former Aussie skipper Rodney Marsh will replace Kapil Dev as India's cricket coach.

ACB media manager Brian Murgatroyd termed the reports as "hypothesis, is unlikely, to say the least", according to information received in Bombay on Wednesday.

"As far as I know no one has offered Marsh the job of coaching," the Melbourne-based Murgatroyd said.

Marsh, the former Aussie wicketkeeper-batsman, is the chief coach at the Commonwealth Bank Cricket Academy in Adelaide and had recently visited the Indian academy in Bangalore as a consultant.

Kapil Dev's role as coach of the Indian team has come under scrutiny from several quarters since former all-rounder Manoj Prabhakar alleged that it was Kapil who had offered him Rs 2.5 million to under perform in a one-day match in the Singer Cup in Sri Lanka in 1994.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India, at its executive committee meeting in Bangalore last Sunday, left the decision on Kapil's future as India coach to its president A C Muthiah.

Mail Cricket Editor