Gary Kirsten has signed a two-year deal to coach the Indian national team. He will start work on March 1, 2008, almost a year after his predecessor, Greg Chappell, resigned from the post.
Kirsten signed the contract after clarifying a few last minute details pertaining to his young family and also to the feelings of senior players in the team who had been anonymously quoted as saying that the appointment of a coach was "unnecessary."
Sharad Pawar, the Indian board president, told Kirsten on Tuesday afternoon that all the senior players were looking forward to having him on board and agreed with Kirsten's suggestion that he meets up with the team before they depart for Australia.