Australian batting great and former India coach Greg Chappell will return to the country next month in a new role as adviser to a local cricket academy.
Chappell, along with former bio-mechanist Ian Frazer, have been signed up by the Rajasthan Cricket Association (RCA), its president Lalit Modi said in a statement on Monday.
"The joining of Greg and Ian will take the Rajasthan Cricket Academy to the forefront of development of cricket not just in Rajasthan, but across India and the entire cricket-playing world," Modi said.
The academy would be operational from October, said Modi, also the vice-president of the Board of Control For Cricket in India (BCCI).
Chappell, who quit as coach in April in the wake of India's World Cup debacle, said he was delighted with the new assignment.
"To be involved with identifying and training the talent of the future in Rajasthan is a wonderful opportunity," the former Australian skipper was quoted as saying in the statement.
The appointment of Chappell, whose two-year stint with the Indian team was overshadowed by controversies, comes as a surprise as he was recently tipped to head the Australian Cricket Academy.
There had also been suggestions that Chappell could be appointed as a consultant to the National Cricket Academy in Bangalore, prompting former Indian skipper-turned-commentator Sunil Gavaskar to question such a move.
{{/usCountry}}There had also been suggestions that Chappell could be appointed as a consultant to the National Cricket Academy in Bangalore, prompting former Indian skipper-turned-commentator Sunil Gavaskar to question such a move.
{{/usCountry}}India are still without a coach and have been managing with stop-gap arrangements since Chappell's exit.