India's assistant coaches sacked

Venkatesh Prasad and Robin Singh were sacked as India's bowling and fielding coaches on Thursday just over a week before the home one-day series against Australia.

Former India paceman Prasad and allrounder Singh had come under pressure after first-round exits in two successive limited overs events. They took up the roles after the team's first- round elimination in the 2007 one-day World Cup.

"The BCCI has decided to discontinue the services of bowling coach Venkatesh Prasad and fielding coach Robin Singh, with immediate effect," Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) secretary N Srinivasan said in a statement.

India's sloppy fielding has let the team down and was in focus during the first-round eliminations from the Twenty20 World Cup, and the ICC Champions Trophy in South Africa this month.

The pace attack, without the injured Zaheer Khan, looked ordinary in South Africa and Ishant Sharma struggled to find any pace or confidence.

The seven-game series against Australia starts on October 25.