It would appear as if South African Graham Ford’s appointment as the next coach of the Indian cricket team by the seven-member coach's selection committee chaired by Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) president Sharad Pawar here on Saturday is almost a formality.

While former Sri Lanka and Bangladesh coach Dav Whatmore was largely tipped to take over the reins, the committee, in its last meeting in Bangalore on Monday, sprang a surprise by ruling the Aussie out of the race and naming Ford as a contender along with 'another foreigner', who turned out to be former England off-spinner John Emburey.

Presentation
The duo, which arrived here late on Friday night, will make its presentation before the committee on Saturday evening.

Ford’s name was apparently proposed by Indian captain Rahul Dravid -- acting on behalf of the team -- to Ravi Shastri, the cricket manager duing India's Bangladesh tour last month.

South African coach Mickey Arthur has said he believes Ford is the ideal choice for India, while Shaun Pollock, captain during Ford's tenure as Protean coach, termed him a fantastic coach. "He is guy who gives 120 percent," said Pollock. But the all-rounder did strike a note of caution. "Ford had an excellent working relationship with us because we all knew him very well. I am not sure what India wants," he said.

It was said that Ford's proximity to the players was one of the reasons behind his ouster as South African coach.  

Ford’s profile as coach far outweighs that of Emburey, the former having coached South Africa to nine Test series wins out of 11.

Limited credentials
On the other hand Emburey, whose candidature came as a surprise, has little to boast as a coach, even being terminated by Northamptonshire in 1998 with still a year left of his contract.

He then opted to coach minor county side Berkshire in 2001 and when he returned to coach his own county Middlesex, they were relegated to the second division last season.

BCCI secretary Niranjan Shah made it clear that the coach would be named on Saturday itself. "We have to announce the next coach on Saturday as we have no time," he said.

Meanwhile, it is learnt that the much-speculated post of the batting coach may not be discussed at all. Former India batting star GR Viswanath was widely tipped to take over as the batting coach.