Former Australian left-arm paceman Bruce Reid was on Sunday appointed as the bowling coach of the Indian cricket team for its 82-day tour of Australia.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India decided to appoint Reid after a working Committee meeting at New Delhi on Sunday.

Concerned over the thrashing the Indian bowlers received in the opening encounter against Victoria, the team management had sought the services of the left-handed seamer as the bowling coach for the gruelling two and half month series.

The team management felt that a seasoned campaigner like Reid will do a lot of good to a relatively inexperienced Indian attack comprising Zaheer Khan, Ashish Nehra, Ajit Agarkar and rookies Lakshmipathy Balaji and Irfan Pathan.

Reid, who earlier coached the Zimbabwe team on their recent tour of Australia, had said on Friday that he was ready to accept the bowling coach offer from the Indian Board.

Reid, who gave nothing away through a nagging line during his playing days, took 113 wickets from 27 matches at an impressive average of 24.63.