Whatmore set for Pakistan coaching job

Dav Whatmore, the man tipped to become Pakistan’s next cricket coach, arrived for an interview in Lahore Saturday, moving a step closer to taking the sport’s hot seat. Dav Whatmore reached her by a private airline to hold his final round of talks with Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) officials who appear set to appoint the Australian as the national team’s coach. After landing at Lahore’s Allama Iqbal Airport, Whatmore avoided to talk to media men present at the airport. He is expected to meet PCB Chairman Zaka Ashraf and other officials during his stay in Lahore.
The committee appointed to select the head coach for national team finalized its recommendations last week that were conveyed to the PCB. Reports said that the PCB has 95 percent finalised Whatmore as the next head coach. However, the final appointment would take place after England series. The 57-year-old former Australian batsman, who coached Sri Lanka to World Cup glory in 1996, is the favourite to replace Waqar Younis who quit the post in September last year over health issues. PCB appointed former opener Mohsin Khan as an interim coach against Sri Lanka and BD but had to extend his stint in charge for the series against England as the selection process was delayed. Pakistan will take on England in the first of three Tests in Dubai from Tuesday. The Tests will be followed by four one-day and three Twenty20s. A new coach will take over during the Asia Cup in Bangladesh in March.
PCB appointed a three-man committee headed by former captain Intikhab Alam, which shortlisted five candidates for the post. “Whatmore has reached here and we will talk to him on the issue,” Alam was quoted by a foreign news agency, without giving further details. PCB has also kept silent on the issue so as not to derail the process. Whatmore, who played seven Tests and one one-day international for Australia in 1979, was in talks with the PCB through another former captain Ramiz Raja, who assisted the committee. Whatmore, who also coached Bangladesh between 2003 and 2007, resigned from his role as coach of the Indian Premier League side KK Riders earlier this month. Pakistan has a history of sacking its coaches and has had six in the last ten years.