Five months after he left India under a cloud of controversy, former Team India coach Greg Chappell landed in Jaipur this morning to a quiet reception, ready to take on his new assignment starting Monday.Chappell landed in Mumbai last night before moving to the Rajasthan capital where he will take over in a consulting role as Director of Cricket in the Rajasthan Cricket Association’s Centre of Excellence that will initially be based at Sawai Man Singh stadium.Chappell, along with his former Team India deputy Ian Frazer, have been handed three-year contracts by the RCA headed by BCCI vice-president Lalit Modi, who is the prime mover behind this initiative. Frazer will be the head coach in charge of the day-to-day programme.Interestingly, while the official brief for Chappell is to identify and train the best 16-20 year olds in Rajasthan with some time devoted to the state’s senior players, the larger vision is to develop a top-notch centre that can have an influence on the future of Indian cricket by developing a world-class programme. Chappell will begin with a six-month stint, most of which will be spent in Jaipur. The former Aussie captain’s wife, Judy, will be with him from his next visit.India, incidentally, is yet to name their new coach after Chappell’s term ended on a sour note when India crashed out of the Caribbean World Cup in the first round followed by reports of differences between the hardline Aussie and some senior players.
