Former Australian captain Greg Chappell is the new coach of the Indian cricket team and will serve till the 2007 World Cup in the West Indies, it was announced here Friday.

"The decision was unanimous," Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) chief Ranbir Singh Mahendra told reporters after a meeting of a special committee that chose Chappell from a panel of four candidates short-listed for the job.

Chappell will succeed New Zealander John Wright, whose five-year term ended last month after the India-Pakistan Test and One-Day International series.

The BCCI panel Thursday interviewed Chappell, as also compatriot Tom Moody, former West Indian player Desmond Haynes and former India player Mohinder Amarnath.

"The terms and conditions will be known after we speak to Chappell," Mahendra said, adding the Australian was expected to take up his assignment in the first week of June.

"The final date will be announced later," the board chief said.

Sources in the BCCI said Chappell's fee is likely to be very high, though he is believed to have scaled down the amount from what he quoted in 2000, when he was also interviewed along with compatriot Rodney Marsh and Wright.
 
Chappell's selection will have to be ratified by the BCCI working committee but this is considered a formality.

The BCCI committee also decided to continue with John Gloster and Greggory Alan King as the physiotherapist and trainer respectively of the Indian team.

Besides Mahendra, the other members of the selection panel were BCCI secretary S.K. Nair, former board president Jagmohan Dalmiya and former India captains Sunil Gavaskar, Srinivas Venkataraghavan and Ravi Shastri.

Chappell also has a rather unique - and an equally notorious - distinction.

He and his two brothers - Ian and Trevor - all played for Australia. This is perhaps the only instance in the history of cricket when three brothers have turned out for their country.

Chappell gained notoriety on February 1, 1981 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground when he ordered Trevor to bowl underarm the last ball of the Benson & Hedges World Series Cup final against New Zealand to deny them victory. The Kiwis at that stage required six runs for victory. Chappell had previously informed the umpire about his decision. At that time, underarm bowling was not specifically prohibited.

Chappell, 56, played 87 Tests and 74 ODIs and is highly regarded as a coach.

A middle-order batsman and right arm medium pacer, Chappell made his debut against England at Perth in December 1970, scoring 7,110 runs for an average of 53.86 and a top score of 247 not out in a 14 year span. His last Test was against Pakistan at Sydney in January 1984.

Chappell's debut in the shorter version was against England at Melbourne in January 1971 and his last match was against Sri Lanka at Colombo in April 1983. He made 2,331 runs for an average of 40.18 and his top score was 138 not out.

As a bowler, Chappell took 47 Test wickets for 1,913 runs for an average of 40.70 and an economy rate of 2.15. He also claimed 72 ODI wickets for 2,097 runs at an average of 29.12 and an economy rate of 4.04.

Chappell has never played in India. He has played just three Tests against the country he will now be coaching. He has played five ODIs against India, all of them at home.

--Indo-Asian News Service