July 02, 2007	Monday	Jamadi-us-Sani 16, 1428

MUMBAI, July 1: Sharad Pawar, the Indian cricket board president, has disclosed that Graham Ford was offered a three-year contract with the board.

Ford turned down the offer to coach India on June 11 after the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) had announced that he would be India's next coach.

It was widely speculated that Ford had refused the job because he was unhappy with the one-year contract offered to him but Pawar's statements adds a new twist.

“He was offered a three-year contract, which was to be confirmed after the first year,” Pawar told PTI after attending the ICC Annual Meeting in London.

He said the BCCI would be more careful in handling these matters in future.

“Unfortunately, the person we selected didn't join,” Pawar said.

“We asked him if he was ready to join. He said it was just a matter of ‘when’ and not ‘whether’ he can join us.

`He said he wanted to talk to his county and consult them on when he can join us and then he did not join.

“Anyway, we have discussed it among ourselves and took suggestions from former players like Sunil Gavaskar and Ravi Shastri,” he said.

Pawar said the BCCI was now looking for another foreign coach, but there was no time-frame for taking a decision in this regard.—Agencies