KOLKATA, Sept 27: Indian cricket coard would not remain dependent on foreign experts as the team’s support staff on a long term basis with efforts on to groom Indians for crucial jobs.

“We are not going to continue with foreign support all the time. Very soon, we are going to have a number of our own men having required expertise and doing jobs,” BCCI president Jagmohan Dalmiya said.

Dalmiya, who was spelling out board’s performance during his presidential tenure in last two years, said it had initited steps to groom Indian experts in fitness training and physiotherapy by holding clinics and seminars.

“To get latest techniques and knowledge, we need to hire foreign hands for the time being,” he said, but at the same time exuded confidence that in near future India might export such expertise to other cricket-playing countries.

Currently all three support staff of Indian team - coach John Wright, physio Andrew Leipus, physical trainer Gregory Allen King - are foreigners.

On dispute with International Cricket Council (ICC) about players’ contract, Dalmiya said he would not like to comment at this stage and would be in a position to speak on the issue only after the Board’s AGM discussed it.

When pointed out that India, despite good display, was yet to win a Test series abroad since 1993, he said “we are in the process ... One important issue is that we are working on with quality of pitches back home”.

“We are very hopeful about even better performance of both the senior and junior teams in coming years,” he added.

Meanwhile, Jagmohan Dalmiya was on Saturday elected president of Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) for third and final term while S.Karunakaran Nair also re-elected as secretary.

Both Dalmiya and Nair as well as entire set of officials for year 2003-04 were elected uncontested on first day of two-day annual general meeting here, said a BCCI spokesman.

“I am happy I have been given another chance to serve Indian cricket,” Dalmiya said after his re-election.—PPI