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New Delhi: Team India bowling coach Venkatesh Prasad and fielding coach Robin Singh were both sacked by the BCCI on Thursday after a 15 member squad for the Australia series was picked.
"Board was unhappy with the performance of the coaches", said a source.
BCCI decided to discontinue the services of both coaches with immediate effect.
The decision was taken by the BCCI's office-bearers on Wednesday and confirmed by the president and secretary, a board official told. The captain and coach were not part of the decision. The reason, he said, was the team's performance in the last two tournaments (the ICC World Twenty20 and the Champions Trophy). He said the vacancies would be filled shortly.
Prasad and Robin, it is understood, were working without a formal contract and on a retainer payment basis.
Prasad, who played in 33 Tests and claimed 96 wickets besides 196 scalps in 161 one-day internationals, had been in charge of India's bowling since the tour to Bangladesh just after the disastrous World Cup campaign in 2007. He had been a vocal advocate of specialised coaches, which have become a basic requirement in modern cricket.
Robin, who handled the team's fielding from that same tour, was recently appointed coach of Mumbai Indians for the third IPL season. He represented India in 136 ODIs, scoring 2336 runs at 25.75 and picking up 69 wickets at 43.26.
The pair had been retained in March along with the rest of India's seven-member support staff.
