Gary Kirsten has a hand in Prasad and Robin Singh sacking

An Indian cricket board insider confirmed to MiD DAY last night that chief coach Gary Kirsten didn't want Venkatesh Prasad and Robin Singh to be a part of the team's support staff any longer.

Gary Kirsten has a hand in Prasad and Robin Singh sacking

An Indian cricket boardu00a0 insider confirmed to MiD DAY last night that chief coach Gary Kirsten didn't want Venkatesh Prasad and Robin Singh to be a part of the team's support staff any longer.

"Kirsten felt they were not contributing much to the team set-up so he recommended that they be removed," the insider said.

He quashed talk about filling the post any sooner. "There's a section in the board that feels there is no any need for a fielding and bowling coach, so I don't think the board will appoint any replacements."

While Kirsten certainly has got a stronghold on the team set-up, some Board members are questioning the utility of Kirsten's pal Paddy Upton, the team's physical and mental conditioning coach.

"What else is Upton contributing to the team apart from preparing embarrassing dossiers. Is he justifying his worth of 12,000 US dollars?" an official asked.

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IT is learnt the selectors had decided on the team even before entering the meeting room in Chennai yesterday. "The team was decided at the breakfast table," a source told MiD DAY. "The team was just read out to Mahendra Singh Dhoni. There were no arguments from the captain, even when it came to the dropping of swing bowler RP Singh."

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The Board has not named a vice-captain for the seven-match ODI series against Australia, but Virender Sehwag is expected to take charge in case Dhoni is injured. Interestingly, Sehwag has stressed that he does not want to captain the side. "While that may be the case, he has not informed us about his reservations so the selectors went ahead and decided what it best for the team. He is the vice-captain," said a BCCI official.

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Several pundits reckon that the right way to deal with Rahul Dravid would have been for the selectors to talk to him before announcing the team. It is not rare for selectors the world over to ask players to announce their retirement (in this case, ODI retirement) to ease the blow. But Krishnamachari Srikkanth & Co decided to drop Dravid and tell him about his omission after the selection meeting. It is learnt that Dravid accepted the sad news sportingly. Now, that's a true sportsman!

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