According to BCCI officials Gary Kirsten has agreed to coach India. The formalities will be cleared in next two days. The initial contract will for two years and can be extended upto next world cup in 2011.
Kirsten played 101 Tests and 185 one-day internationals for South Africa in an 11-year career that ended in 2004.
The names of another South African cricket star, former skipper Kepler Wessels, and the high-profile Australian John Buchanan had also been considered, but the 40-year-old Kirsten eventually got the nod.