South Africa’s Graham Ford has turned down the post of India’s new national cricket coach and decided to stay with Kent, his county club said on Monday.
Ford was selected for the job by India’s coaching committee after an interview in Chennai on Saturday, pipping fellow candidate and former England spinner John Emburey.
Ford, who remains Kent’s director of cricket, was due to have his appointment formally ratified by the Indian board’s decision-making working committee on Tuesday.
Explaining his decision, Ford told Kent’s website: ”I am very grateful to the club for allowing me to go to India to find out more about the job of coaching the Indian team.
”I have had a chance to reflect on the offer made by the BCCI [Board of Cricket Control in India] and their urgency to fill the vacant position.
”After careful consideration, I have decided to continue my work here at Kent.
”This has been a really difficult decision. I am honoured that India have shown such interest in my capabilities but feel that this is the right decision for me and my family.”
Graham Johnson, Kent’s chairperson of cricket, described Ford’s decision as ”great news”, adding: ”I would like to say how much we appreciate the way Graham has handled the last few days.
”He has made a significant contribution to our playing performance during his time with us, as well as the system to produce local cricket talent in Kent.”
The India job became vacant after former Australia skipper Greg Chappell ended his two-year term in April following the team’s shock first-round exit at the World Cup.
Ford had guided South Africa to eight wins from 11 Test series in two years until he was axed in 2001 after back-to-back series defeats against Australia during troubled times in the wake of the Hansie Cronje match-fixing saga.
Along with Ford and Emburey, the board had also considered Australian Dav Whatmore, the outgoing Bangladesh coach, before rejecting his bid on Wednesday. Ford’s decision leaves India with a coach to find before they leave later this month for Ireland, where they face the home country and South Africa in one-day internationals, followed by a full tour of England. — Reuters