The Board of Control for Cricket in India made a shocking decision on Friday to extend the contract of Duncan Fletcher by a year despite his poor record as India coach since he took over from Gary Kirsten in 2011.
Fletcher is the fourth foreigner to coach India since John Wright, who managed the team between 2000 and 2005.
He has the worst record in Tests among all his predecessors. Under him India also suffered the ignominy of back-to-back whitewashes in England Australia in 2011.
Rediff.com takes a look at how India's foreign coaches have fared:
John Wright (November 2000 - April 2005)
Former New Zealand batsman John Wright was India's first foreign coach, appointed in November 2000.
He is regarded as one of the best coaches Team India had. His style of functioning was loved by the players and Board. Wright and Ganguly formed a good partnership and took Indian cricket to never seen heights as they focussed on winning overseas Test matches.
Under Wright, India put together one of its best teams ever in Test cricket, and were virtually unbeatable at home.
| Matches | Won Lost | Drawn | Tied | Won % | |
| Tests | 51 | 20 | 15 | 16 | 39.21 |
| ODIs | 130 | 68 | 56 | 6 | 52.31 |
| T20Is | - |
Statistics: Rajneesh Gupta
Chappell failed to make an impact as coach
Greg Chappell (Jun 2005 - April 2007)
Greg Chappell came with a big reputation. The former Australia captain was regarded as one of the greatest players of his generation, but failed to make an impact as a coach.
He never got along well with captain Sourav Ganguly and his policy of inducting younger players to the team got him into the bad books of senior players.
He quit after India's disastrous showing in the 2007 50-overs World Cup, in which the team failed to make it past even the group stages.
| Matches | Won | Lost | Drawn | Tied | Won % | |
| Tests | 18 | 7 | 4 | 7 | 0 | 38.88 |
| ODIs | 62 | 32 | 27 | 3 | 0 | 51.61 |
| T20Is | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 100.00 |
India won the 2011 Word Cup under Kirsten
Gary Kirsten (Mar 2008 - Apr 2011)
Gary Kirsten is regarded as one of the best coaches India ever had. The young South African was a popular figure in the dressing room and earned the respect of the seniors and juniors alike.
He formed a very personal bond with all the players, and under him the team played like champions.
Kirsten provided India one of its best cricketing moments when he helped them win the 50-overs World Cup in 2011 following which he called it quits.
Such was his closeness with the players that many of them wanted him to stay back. He moved on for personal reasons.
| Matches | Won | Lost | Drawn | Tied | Won % | |
| Tests | 33 | 16 | 6 | 11 | 0 | 48.48 |
| ODIs | 91 | 57 | 29 | 4 | 1 | 62.64 |
| T20Is | 18 | 9 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 50.00 |
(Note: Kirsten officially took over as India's coach in March, 2008, though he had been appointed on December 4, 2007.)
Fletcher suffered back-to-back Test whitewashes
Duncan Fletcher (April 2011 onwards)
Duncan Fletcher's name was suggested by Kirsten, but he never quite matched the standards set by the South African.
Fletcher has the worst Test record among all India's foreign coaches, with a win percentage of 36.36, for just eight wins in 22 games.
India have also not performed to expectations in the ODI format and have struggled overseas.
The back-to-back Test wins against Australia in the ongoing series is the only high point of an otherwise disappointing tenure so far.
| Matches | Won | Lost | Drawn | Tied | Won % | |
| Tests | 22 | 8 | 10 | 4 | 0 | 36.36 |
| ODIs | 44 | 25 | 16 | 1 | 2 | 56.81 |
| T20Is | 17 | 9 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 52.94 |
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