The rain was beginning to gather intensity and the under-15 kids training at the KSCA ‘B’ grounds flocked to the shelter of the roofed confines of the National Cricket Academy. Soon, their attention shifted to a stocky figure walking briskly, and murmurs of ‘Dav Whatmore’ grew in intensity. The anticipation in their voices was unmistakable -- after all, this man will play a major role in shaping the destiny of young cricketers in India over the next three years.
Whatmore’s hallmark during his highly successful coaching stint with Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, memorable for the shock wins he masterminded, has been to make his time useful. Admitting that there was a huge gulf between his past jobs and the present one as the Director of Operations of the NCA, he rated the excitement of facing the unknown as a common factor.
“The call from Ravi (Shastri) was out of the blue. It is totally different from my earlier jobs. This is a developmental position, and very exciting like my earlier jobs,” said the former Aussie batsman.
Working in a high profile job in Indian cricket establishment is like opening a trap door; the result could be either fame or doom. India will have to induct more youngsters into the team and naturally, the role of the NCA and Whatmore as its Director will come under the spotlight. The Australian will have to deal with those official responsibilities, and with the ambitions of a cricket-crazy nation that expects to discover a new wonder kid every day.
In that respect, Whatmore felt, his experiences with Lanka and Bangladesh will come in handy. “It’s different in the sense of development, but it still is the sub-continent area. It is about understanding the youngsters and helping them achieve what they want. Expectations are something that you have to deal with in all the nations.” Whatmore was candid in admitting that he still had to get a taste of Indian cricket and the talent in it. But India’s triumph in the Twenty20 World Cup has made him realise that there is no dearth of natural talent in India, one of the reasons for him accepting the job.
“We had a bit of the Indian taste in Twenty20. They haven’t got too much fear and I think they are athletic, have skill as well and that is a contrast because they are young boys. But they do lack the experience at top level, and our aim will be to harness that talent.”
Whatmore has spent the last 12 years in the sub-continent, but he is still essentially an Australian, eager for innovation and improvisation. “Now, we would like to move along, and naturally there will have a slight change or two. There will be a shift in focus as well. As a start, our focus is to be as strong as possible and help to develop players for international cricket. “Besides developing young cricketers, the NCA’s other role will be to catch those few cricketers who have been dropped, have lost a bit of form, have let a few bad habits creep into their technique. The opportunity to correct these may not be there in their local set-up, and we at the NCA will provide that opportunity to correct them,” he elaborated.
It needs proper nourishment for any idea to turn into reality, and Whatmore said the presence of a positive thinking person like Shastri was important for him. “I have known Ravi for a while. He is a forward-thinking guy and his appointment as chairman also reflects what the BCCI thinks about him. The chairman has also given me the authority through the cricket Board to get a full-time staff, to buy some expertise which may not be readily available in India.”
