Dav Whatmore appointed as Baroda's coach as well as Director of Cricket

Dav Whatmore tenure with Kerala ended last season when the Australian parted ways with the side following a dismal season. Whatmore, who has an illustrious coaching career in international cricket, was the coach of Kerala for three years and parted ways with Kerala after they finished second-last in combined Group A and B table.

In the recent development of news, Sri Lanka’s World Cup-winning coach was appointed Baroda’s Ranji team coach as well as Director of Cricket. The BCA secretary Ajit Lele confirmed the appointment of Whatmore on Sunday. Reports of Whatmore donning the coaching role of Baroda side had already surfaced a couple of days ago.

Whatmore, who was in charge of the India U19 side which clinched the Junior World Cup in 2008 under Virat Kohli‘s captaincy, has a vast coaching experience under his belt. In his position as Director of Cricket, the age-group coaches, U23, U19 and U16 will be guided by Whatmore.

‘I was keen in helping a new team flourish’: Dav Whatmore

“Whatmore has been appointed as coach of the Ranji trophy team and also the Director of Cricket for a period of two years,” stated BCA secretary Lele.

After Whatmore was offered the job by the BCA, the Australian gave a go-ahead from his end and communicated his decision to former Mumbai batsman Shishir Hattangadi. Hattangadi is the CEO of the Association.

“I was keen in helping a new team flourish. I was in talks with three other teams, but my visa was about to expire. I had to return to Australia because of travel restrictions due to the coronavirus. So I hired a manager, who helped me finalise this deal with Baroda. When I return to India, hopefully in June or whenever things normalise, I’ll be based in Baroda for close to nine months in a year,” said Whatmore post his appointment.

“They won the Under-19s this year, so that tells you their youth cricket is strong. So the future looks positive. I haven’t been able to see first-hand the existing structure or a lot of their players since I was involved with Kerala, but I’m keen now to see what’s in store,” added Whatmore.