Australia’s assistant cricket coach, Steve Rixon who was approached by Sri Lanka Cricket to be the next national coach, yesterday revealed the reasons for declining the offer – poor remuneration.
“Sri Lanka Cricket sent me a contract which was really embarrassing, I have to say, because it was so poor,” Rixon was quoted on a popular sports web site.
“I’m the assistant coach of Australia, and I get more staying with that job than on the contract they sent through. It was really quite embarrassing for an international coach.”
Fifty-nine-year-old Rixon who has played 13 Test and six ODI matches for Australia as a wicket-keeper batsman, later coached New South Wales and New Zealand.
Reportedly Sri Lanka Cricket offers the national coach a salary of USD 15,000 (Rs 1,965,000) per month.
Rixon is clearly not happy with the approach made by Sri Lanka Cricket.
“In the end I just texted back several times and said, ‘Look, we’re talking massive differences in the job package, and I’m not here to debate it with anyone, but where I would be coming from is a lot bigger than what Sri Lanka can afford.’ I was looking forward to sitting down and talking to someone, but no one’s really given me that respect I suppose, to be able to do that. And I said no, I’m not really interested,” Rixon said.
The only foreign coach that remains on SLC’s two-man shortlist is Mark Davis.
Sri Lanka Cricket is expected to appoint either Davis or the team’s assistant coach Marvan Atapattu as the new coach to replace Graham Ford, who will leave after the Test series against Pakistan in January.
