John Wright firmly in the saddle as India's next coach

Former Board President Raj Singh Dungarpur confirmed today that John Wright had won the race to be India's next coach. The 46 year old ex-New Zealand captain fought off stiff competition from Australian rivals Greg Chappell and Geoff Marsh to land the job. Wright had been interviewed for the position in Chennai on October 23 along with Chappell while Marsh's interrogation had taken place earlier this week in Mumbai.

"Wright was the right man for the job as Marsh could not meet our conditions while Chappell demanded an astronomical figure", Dungarpur told Press Trust of India. "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 insisted that he be with the team for most part of the year which was not acceptable to him," Dungarpur added.

However indications are that Marsh will be employed in a consultative capacity with the Board, a position formerly held by his compatriot Bobby Simpson. According to Dungarpur, the details of Wright's contract would be released by Board President AC Muthiah later on Thursday. Wright is expected to join duty in time for the upcoming Zimbabwean tour of India. The series comprising of two Tests and five one-day internationals commences November 18.