Why Graham Ford said no to India coaching job

NEW DELHI: Graham Ford has been guiding cricketers for over two decades now, beginning his coaching career back in

Natal

with the likes of Malcolm Marshall and Shaun Pollock in 1992. His assignments have been spread all over the world with the likes of South Africa ' A',

Dolphins

,

Kent

and

Surrey

.

The South African is back in the

Emerald Isles

to help rebuild

Sri Lankan cricket

after the departure of legends Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara. Indian cricket is also no stranger to Ford, as he sensationally turned down an offer from BCCI to coach the national side back in 2007. TOI caught up with Ford here on Wednesday. Excerpts from an exclusive interview...

In your second stint as Sri Lankan coach, do you consider this as your toughest challenge yet?

As you go along in life, there are certainly different challenges. We are here on a mission to rebuild Sri Lankan cricket and there are lots of important role-players involved in the process. I have worked hard and rebuilt teams in the past and it is a similar situation here. The loss of great senior players like Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara has had an impact. The hierarchy and the board are now looking at the next crop of players.

How would you define your coaching philosophy?

It varies from group to group and you have to adapt yourself to the demands. When you have a younger group it is a different scenario and it also depends on the leadership of the team. If you have a very experienced captain who likes to lead from the front, you take a more hands-off approach.

What went wrong in your negotiations with the BCCI in 2007 and would you be open to a coaching role with Team India in the future?

I am not fussy about what sort of role I am have. At that particular time, I had a very young family and to make it work it was always going to be difficult. But to be involved with any good group of cricketers is what I love and is my passion. I don't mind where in the world that is but I'll be enjoying it.

Is it easy to manage sides with superstars in it?

There are some superstars who are wonderful individuals and help the coach along the way as well. I had the great Malcolm Marshall and Clive Rice in the team that I coached at Kwazulu-Natal and I learned much from them. People seem to think that some of them are difficult to handle but very often they help the group a great deal.

You share a long relationship with Kevin Pietersen and he considers you as his mentor. How has this relation developed over the years?

I helped him a bit as a young player back in Natal. I think we clicked quite early on in his career. Every player has a particular coach they feel very comfortable with and it's just worked well with him. He trusted a lot of what I had to say to him. From then on, I have offered him the odd reminder of things.