Former Australia captain Greg Chappell has been selected as the new coach of the Indian team.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India announced in New Delhi on Friday that the 56-year-old Australian will take charge of the team next month.
"The decision to appoint Chappell was unanimous," said BCCI president Ranbir Singh Mahendra.
The other contenders for the post were Australia's Tom Moody, West Indies' Desmond Haynes and India's Mohinder Amarnath.
The BCCI's interviewing panel, comprising former India captains Sunil Gavaskar, Ravi Shastri and Srinivas Venkatraghavan and BCCI president Ranbir Singh Mahendra, secretary Nair and former BCCI president Jagmohan Dalmiya, had interviewed the four candidates in Delhi on Thursday.
"He has been given a two-year contract and will remain in charge of the team till the 2007 World Cup," Mahendra added.