The Pakistan Cricket Board has on Sunday confirmed that it has invited former World Cup winning Sri Lanka coach Dav Whatmore to finalise his appointment as head coach of the national team. Pakistan cricket team is without a full time coach since former paceman Waqar Younis left the post in September citing health problems. “We are in the process of finalising the appointment and in this regard are in discussions with Whatmore,” Pakistan Cricket Board’s chief operating officer Subhan Ahmed said on Sunday. Whatmore is expected to reach Pakistan in second week of January, he added. Former opening batsman Mohsin Khan has been serving as interim coach and was retained for Pakistan’s series next month against England in the United Arab Emirates.
The 57-year-old Whatmore, who played for Australia in the late 1970s and early 1980s, is regarded as one of the most successful coaches in international cricket, having guided Sri Lanka to the World Cup title in 1996. He subsequently enjoyed a successful coaching spell with Bangladesh and is currently in charge of the Kolkata Knight Riders in the Indian Premier League. Meanwhile, Julian Fountain, front-runner for Pakistan’s fielding coach position, is likely to join the team ahead of its departure for the forthcoming Test and ODI series against England in the United Arab Emirates.
Reports quoting sources confirmed that negotiations with the Australian fielding coach Fountain are in final stages and he is expected to visit Lahore soon to sign his contract with the board. “Financial issues were the main hurdle between Fountain and the board as he had demanded a monthly pay of between $ 10,000 to 15,000 but now that matter has been sorted out. He will come to Lahore soon to finalise things,” the source said.
The PCB is hunting for a new coaching staff for the national team after Waqar Younis resigned on personal and health grounds last September leaving the board to appoint chief selector, Mohsin Khan as interim coach of the team. Mohsin has also been retained as interim coach for the series against England. But the source said while Dav Whatmore would only join the team after the England series, there are strong chances that Fountain will be on the coaching staff for the series in the UAE. “Captain Misbah-ul-Haq and Mohsin have both supported the idea of having a specialist fielding coach with the team before the England series and Fountain is the obvious choice,” the source said.
Fountain has worked before with the Pakistan team for short periods. He said Fountain might visit Lahore during the national team’s short conditional camp being held in first week of January and accompany them to Dubai and Abu Dhabi for the series. The board has confirmed that Whatmore will also soon be visiting Lahore to hold negotiations with them with reference to the job of head coach. The source said that Whatmore had informed the board that he would only be available for his long-term assignments with the Pakistan team after completing his obligations with the Kolkata Knight Riders in the 2012 Indian Premier League season.
The source also confirmed that it has been decided that the board would appoint a Pakistani as assistant coach to Whatmore as it wants someone to learn and progress for the future. The assistant coach position is likely to go to either Sabih Azhar or Aaqib Javed.
