Wright is right for BCCI

Former New Zealand skipper John Wright will be the new coach of the Indian cricket team. He got the nod from the Board of Control for Cricket in India ahead of two other contenders, Australians Geoff Marsh and Greg Chappell, on Thursday.

Former BCCI president Raj Singh Dungarpur said: "Wright is the right man for the job as Marsh could not meet our conditions while Chappel demanded an astronomical figure.

"We had spoken to Wright and Chappell earlier while we had long discussions with Marsh for the last couple of days. Marsh finds it difficult to leave his family for a long period of time while we (the board) insisted that he be with the team for most part of the year, which was not acceptable to him.

"However, the details of the contract would be made public to the media in the evening by board president A C Muthiah."

In all probability, Marsh will take over as a consultant to the board, a job earlier held by former Australian captain Bob Simpson.

The panel to select the coach comprised A C Muthiah, Dungarpur, chief coach of the National Cricket Academy Hanumant Singh and former Indian team skipper and now international umpire S Venkataraghavan.

Mail Cricket Editor