Kirsten refused England coaching job as was not allowed to pick 'sacked' Pietersen

Former South African coach Gary Kirsten had reportedly refused to replace Andy Flower as England's team director because he was not allowed to pick sacked batsman Kevin Pietersen.

Limited-overs coach Ashley Giles is expected to be anointed as Flower's successor next month after England's World Twenty20 campaign in Bangladesh, although the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) also sounded out Kirsten about sifting through the wreckage of England's 5-0 Ashes wipeout in Australia.

According to the Mirror, former South African opener Kirsten publicly distanced himself from the job by claiming that he did not want to spend long periods away from his family in South Africa, although he privately confided that he does not want to succeed Flower at any price if he was constrained by ECB dictates which vetoed Pietersen's selection.

Kirsten, who is the coach of the Indian Premier League franchise Delhi Daredevils and had taken India and South Africa to No.1 in the world, paid 900,000 pounds at the IPL auction this year to secure Pietersen's signing - then installed him as captain

However, the report mentioned that Kirsten's principled stand underlines the ECB's folly of sacking Pietersen, tearing up his central contract and turning his exile from international cricket into a condition of employment for the next team director.