Alex Kontouri, Sri Lanka's physio for the last six years, is being headhunted by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), who are looking to improve the fitness of their notoriously injury prone players.

A BCCI working committee in Delhi decided on Wednesday to appoint three physical trainers to assist current physio Andrew Leipus. One would work directly with the national side, whilst the remaining two would work with players from National Cricket Academy (NCA) and junior sides.

The BCCI is believed to have short listed four candidates so far, including South Africa's Adrian Le Roux, Australia's Anthony Wilson and Andrew May, and Kontouri.

However, Kontouri, who has recently married a Sri Lankan girl and remains contracted to the Sri Lankan Board until after the 2003 World Cup, is unlikely to work in India for the time being.

A possible role is apparently being touted during breaks in Sri Lanka's competitive schedule but a crammed year ahead with overseas tours to Sharjah, England, South Africa and Australia leaves very little time for manoeuvre.

Kontouri, quoted by Yahoo.com on Wednesday night, said: "I am an employee of the Sri Lankan Cricket Board and would need to seek their permission."

The Sri Lankan Board would be very reluctant to lose Kontouri, who has become an integral part and highly valued member of the team.

© CricInfo