Dav Whatmore appointed head coach of Baroda team, becomes most expensive coach in India's First-Class cricket history

In what can be called a major development, Dav Whatmore has been appointed the Director of Cricket and head coach by Baroda Cricket Association. The Sri Lankan-born Australian coach has a plethora of experience behind his back which would help him nurturing the young Indian players. Whatmore will join the team ahead of the upcoming domestic season and be determined to take Baroda cricket to greater heights.

It has to be noted that Whatmore is set to earn a whopping amount of INR 1 crore per season, which makes him the most expensive coach in India’s First-Class cricket history. Having begun his career way back in the early ’90s, the veteran coach has almost three-decade of experience in this field. One of the biggest highlights of his career is taking Sri Lanka to the 1996 World Cup triumph.

The Baroda cricket team hasn’t been sensational lately of late and it would be interesting to how Whatmore’s tenure unfold. It has to be noted Baroda’s last winning season came way back in 2000-01. In this year’s Syed Mushtaq Ali trophy, the Krunal Pandya-led side exceptionally well, winning all five games in the league stage. However, they succumb in the knock-out stage.

Dav Whatmore was Kerela’s head coach during the 2017-18 season

Speaking of their campaign in the Vijay Hazare Trophy 2021, they couldn’t cross the league stage. Besides this, a major controversy brought Baroda cricket under bad light earlier this year. During the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, a verbal tussle between skipper Krunal Pandya and Deepak Hooda hogged a lot of limelight. Subsequently, Hooda was suspended and he later announced to leave the state team.

Hence, Whatmore will also have the onus to regroup the team. Notably, this won’t be Australia’s first assignment in India’s domestic circuit. The 67-year-old has coached the Kerala side for a season in 2017-18, where they reached the quarterfinals of Ranji Trophy for the first time.

Whatmore has also been a part of the Indian Premier League (IPL) as the coach of Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR). He joined the team in 2010 but stepped down the very next year after KKR lost to Mumbai Indians (MI) in the 2011 Eliminator. As far as Whatmore’s last association is concerned, he worked as a head coach of the Nepal national team before stepping down last month.