Pakistan line up Whatmore as new coach

Published on 26/02/2012 02:31

Dav Whatmore will be appointed as Pakistan’s new coach in March, according to Intikhab Alam.

Alam, a former Pakistan player and coach, chaired a committee put together by the Pakistan Cricket Board to find a new man after Waqar Younis stepped down last year.

It has long been thought that, despite Pakistan’s impressive form under interim boss Mohsin Khan – they recently inflicted a Test series whitewash on world No.1-ranked England – former Bangladesh coach Whatmore had been chosen by the committee.

And Alam told cricket website PakPassion.net: “Dav Whatmore will arrive in early March to sign his contract. I can’t give you the exact date yet as that has not been verified, but everything is in place for him to take over with his first assignment being the Asia Cup in Bangladesh.

“Whatmore has a proven record and I feel that his appointment will be an exciting one for the Pakistan cricket team.

“The team under Misbah[-ul-Haq]’s astute leadership have gelled and continued to show great signs of improvement over the last year or so.

“I feel that Whatmore will add more professionalism to an already improving team and will take this team to greater heights.”

Meanwhile, Pakistan cricket authorities plan to question banned pace bowler Mohammad Amir following his return home yesterday from Britain after serving a jail sentence for corruption.

Amir, 19, was released from prison this month after serving a three-month sentence for his role in a spot-fixing scandal during the 2010 Test against England at Lord’s. He had been banned for five years by the International Cricket Council (ICC).

“Obviously we will be meeting him to find out the root cause of the spot-fixing issue in Pakistan cricket,” said Pakistan Cricket Board chief operating officer Subhan Ahmad.

“We will talk to him to find out how and why he got involved in this corruption. Initially he was not very honest with us so we need to ask him questions.

“We also want to discuss his rehabilitation with him.”

Amir and his team-mates Salman Butt and Mohammad Asif were banned by the ICC last year for arranging for deliberate no-balls to be delivered in the Lord’s Test. Butt and Asif are still serving jail sentences.