Chappell to help Australia against India

Sydney, Sep 23 (UNI) In order to improve their existing winning records in the Indian soil, the Australians have enlisted the help of former India coach Greg Chappell as they prepare to defend the Border-Gavaskar Trophy away from home.

Chappell will be an assistant to Australian coach Tim Nielsen, with the squad until at least after the first Test in Bangalore, beginning on October 9.

He will provide great insight as he is a former coach of India and still a key adviser at India's Centre of Excellence at the Rajasthan Cricket Academy in Jaipur.

The Australians arrived in Jaipur last night and they will have two warm-up games before the Test series begins on October 9.

The 15-man Australian squad will tomorrow begin a week's training at the Jaipur academy before heading to Hyderabad for its only official warm-up match leading into the first Test.

Former Australian captain Chappell knows all about the pitfalls and frustrations of playing cricket in India, as shown in the documentary Guru Greg, which aired on the ABC last November.

''It's good to be involved this time,'' Chappell told the 'Herald Sun'. ''Obviously it's a transition period and always an exciting time.'' ''I'll have the opportunity to work with some of the young players. Just talk about the conditions in India, generally, will be part of the role, just what to expect in India, conditions, weather, food- all those different things.

''We'll be talking about the whole strategy involving bowling and batting in India. There will be discussions certainly with the coaching staff and probably with the individuals.'' Chappell was the coach of Indian team from 2005 to 2007 and still works with the Rajasthan Cricket Academy. The new role touring with Australia follows his appointment as the head coach at the Centre of Excellence in Brisbane.

''It's a role that the Centre of Excellence head does from time to time,'' Chappell said. ''Tim Nielsen obviously did it with the team on various occasions when he was with the academy, so it's no different to the past. Some people will want to make it look different, but it's not.'' Chappell's inclusion in the off-field staff will be a major boost for a squad that has only four men, who have played a Test in India- Ricky Ponting, Matthew Hayden, Michael Clarke and Simon Katich.

Chappell, who averaged 53.86 in 87 Tests, remains one of the game's greatest batsmen, but he never played a Test in India.

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