Fletcher expected to attend selection meeting

Duncan Fletcher, the newly-appointed India coach, is likely to fly down to Chennai on May 13 to be part of the selection meeting to pick the squad for the one-day series in the West Indies next month. It has been understood that Fletcher was keen to attend the meeting as that would also allow him to get acquainted with his new bosses as well as the selectors and MS Dhoni, the India captain who will also be in the city which is the base of Chennai Super Kings, his IPL franchise.

Fletcher, who was England coach for eight years, took over his new assignment immediately after Gary Kirsten decided not to renew his contract with the BCCI at the end of the World Cup. Fletcher's appointment is for two years and though both the employer and employee have not revealed the terms of the contract, it is believed to be the same as that of Kirsten. That means Fletcher will reportedly not have any selectorial vote, but will be present during the selection meetings along with Dhoni.

Also present at the meeting on Wednesday would be Eric Simons, who worked with Fletcher at Western Province in the first half of the 1990s. Simons, picked by Kirsten two years ago to be part of his support staff two years ago, was retained as the bowling coach by the Indian board. Simons is likely to play the role of the interim coach for the Caribbean tour after the BCCI said that Fletcher might not be part of the West Indies tour as he had prior commitments to fulfill. In that case Fletcher will start his innings against England, a team he built from scratch eventually leading to Ashes glory in 2005.