Almost three weeks after Graham Ford turned down the offer to coach the Indian cricket team, the Board of Control for Cricket in India added a new angle to the embarrassing episode with Board president Sharad Pawar [Images] disclosing that the South African was offered a 3-year contract.

It was widely speculated that Ford had spurned the job because he was unhappy with the one-year contract offered to him but Pawar's revelation has given a new dimension to the entire saga.

Pawar said Ford's contract was to be confirmed after the first year of his tenure but surprisingly BCCI had not made it public till date.

"He was offered a three-year contract, which was to be confirmed after the first year," Pawar told PTI after attending the International Cricket Council annual meeting in London [Images].

Smarting from Ford's snub after he declined the job to continue his stint with Kent County Club, Pawar said the board would be more careful in handling these matters.

"In future, we will see that these issues are handled carefully," Pawar said.

The BCCI found itself in an embarrassing situation when Ford, who was chosen ahead of John Emburey, turned down the offer and decided to stay with Kent.

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

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