Duncan Fletcher appointed India's cricket coach

Mumbai, April 27 (IANS) Former England coach Duncan Fletcher was Wednesday named as the coach of the Indian cricket team for the next two years.

Fletcher's appointment was made here during the working committee meeting of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).

Fletcher replaces South African Gary Kirsten, under whom India won the World Cup and also became the No.1 Test team for the first time.

'The contract with Fletcher is for two years. He may not join the team in the West Indies as he has some prior commitments,' board secretary N. Srinivasan told reporters.

The BCCI also decided to retain South African Eric Simons as the bowling coach.

The board also decided to increase the cash incentive for the World Cup winning Indian team from Rs.1 crore to Rs.2 crore each.

Fletcher, a former Zimbabwe captain, played just six ODI matches and was part of the 1983 World Cup team.

The 62-year-old Fletcher, now a British citizen, was the coach of the England team for almost eight years (2000-2007) and also guided them to an Ashes series win for the first time in 18 years.