Greg Chappell, India's coach, will not be seeking an extension of his contract, which expired at the end of the World Cup. Chappell informed the board president of his decision on Wednesday, citing "family and personal reasons."

Chappell, 58, had served as coach since June 2005.

The decision follows India's early exit from the World Cup, and the resulting war of words in the media between Chappell and senior players. The BCCI had convened a meeting on Friday to review the team's performance in the Caribbean, which Chappell had been asked to attend along with a detailed report on his tenure.

However, the controversy seemed to boil over on Wednesday morning when The Times of India published an interview with Sachin Tendulkar - known for avoiding speaking on controversial topics - in which he made several sharp comments about Chappell.

In his letter, released to the media, Chappell, said, "I am grateful to the players with whom I have worked in this time for the challenges that they presented me with and which I tried to meet in a professional, methodical and interesting way in the interests of the team and the individual."

He went on to thank the support staff who worked with him for their efforts. "I would like to make special mention of my support staff without whom I would not have survived the rigours of the past 22 months," he said. "Ian Frazer and Greg King deserve special mention for their efforts as do John Gloster, S Ramakrishnan and Ramesh Mane. I am particularly grateful for the wonderful support of my family, especially my wife Judy, who has enjoyed the experience as much as I."

Chappell also had a word for the people of India who followed cricket so passionately. "The people of India deserve a special mention as they are the ones whose attention, enthusiasm and love and support drive the great game, and business, of cricket in this country, and around the world," he said. "I thank them all, especially those who have written to me and the thousands who have gone out of their way to come up to me with well wishes."

"I am also grateful for the opportunity to extend my knowledge and awareness of this region and for the wonderful friends that I have made here," Chappell wrote in his release. "I look forward to continuing my contact with India in the coming years and I wish Indian cricket and all those involved with it much joy and success in the future."

Chappell also thanked the media for the support he had received from them in the course of his tenure. "To the media, my thanks also for constantly forcing me to question myself, my thinking and the way I went about my job of guiding the team through the many tests that we faced."

Not that i didnt expect it... just saw it on the news..