Coaching the Indian team is definitely the most difficult, if not the
most high-profile, job in world cricket. Thus, it was not surprising
that the Board of Control for Cricket in India struggled to find a
replacement for Greg Chappell, who stepped down after the World Cup
debacle.

While the search for Chappell's successor waged for months, the team
went about its job and performed quite well in the absence of a
regular coach.

Former player Lalchand Rajput, who was entrusted the task of managing
the team, did a creditable job. Having coached the Under-19 and India
'A' teams successfully, it was no surprise that even the senior team
too achieved success under him.

Rajput's tenure started with the Twenty20 World Cup triumph. Then
followed the ODI series against Australia, which the team lost, and
the ODI and Test series against Pakistan, which India won
convincingly. He has now been appointed assistant coach for the
upcoming tour of Australia, where new coach Gary Kirsten will be with
the team only for a few days.