KATHMANDU: Dav Whatmore, who led Sri Lanka to the World Cup title, has been appointed as the head coach of the Nepali cricket national team. Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN) on Thursday appointed the World Cup Australian winning coach Dav Whatmore as Nepal’s head coach.
💬 “Dav is looking forward to the new challenge with a bunch of young talent of Nepal.”
Dav Whatmore has been appointed as the new head coach of Nepal 🇳🇵 pic.twitter.com/4e6HSzH2V7
— ICC (@ICC) December 18, 2020
After Umesh Patwal resigned along with the ICC World Cup League 2 series in Nepal last February, Nepal was without a head coach. During this period, Jagat Tamata played the role of head coach. When ACC T20 Eastern Cup was played in Thailand in March, Jagat Tomata was not the coach.
Cricket activities, which were halted due to the corona epidemic, resumed on November 25. Tamata also coached the players when CAN started the national team’s closed camp.
But ahead of the World Cup League 2 series, Whatmore will take charge, having experience coaching four Test nations. Whatmore was the coach when Sri Lanka won the World Cup in 1996. He has also worked as a coach for Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL.
The last time he was a coach in Singapore. Under his tutelage, Singapore even reached the global qualifiers of the T20 World Cup.
The Nepali cricket world is excited about the appointment of the experienced Whatmore coach. CAN Secretary Ashok Nath Pyakurel said that CAN has signed Whatmore with a one-year contract and there is an option to renew the contract. He said that a final decision is yet to be taken on economic issues.
The Whatmore agreement will take effect in January 2021. However, Secretary Pyakurel informed that Whatmore will arrive in Nepal by the end of the first week of January as there is a holiday like Christmas and New Year. Pyakurel said that Whatmore’s appointment was a matter of enthusiasm for the overall Nepali cricket.
Born in Sri Lanka and currently living in Australia, Whatmore came to Nepal for some time in 2017 at the invitation of the Bat and Ball Foundation.
At that time, he said that Nepal’s young players could surprise everyone.
In 2021, Nepal will also play T20 cricket from the ICC World Cup Cricket League series. Similarly, Nepali cricket is in a transition phase and there are many young players, so his arrival is a great opportunity for the overall development of cricket in Nepal and for young players to learn.
Whatmore is an experienced coach and his arrival is good news for Nepali cricket, said national team captain Gyanendra Malla and former player Shakti Gauchan.
The role of Whatmore can be very important in Nepal cricket’s future growth. How he takes the new player forward and the outcome of the upcoming game will depend on how he takes the remaining senior players: Paras, Sharad, Gyanu, and Basanta.
