Whatmore for Indian academy post

Former Bangladesh coach Dav Whatmore is all set to be hired as the director of India's National Cricket Academy, according to an official statement released on Friday.

Whatmore, 53, is holding discussions with NCA chairman Ravi Shastri, BCCI secretary Niranjan Shah said in a press release. "Ravi Shastri, after taking over as chairman of the National Cricket Academy, is in discussion with Dav Whatmore for appointment as director, operations, at the NCA," Shah said.

However, sources close to Whatmore confirmed that the appointment had been finalised. Shah later confirmed that Whatmore's appointment was all but certain. "It's almost confirmed," he told Cricinfo. "We need to get a bit of details and paperwork completed. We need to go through a few procedures before officially ratifying the appointment."

Whatmore, who played seven Tests for Australia, had been widely tipped to succeed Greg Chappell, who quit as India coach after the World Cup debacle in April. Recent reports have suggested that Whatmore is the front-runner for the West Indian coaching job, one which has been vacant since fellow Australian Bennett King resigned in April. King's assistant David Moore coached West Indies on the summer tour of England and to the just concluded Twenty20 World Cup in South Africa.

India are still without a coach and have been managing with stop-gap arrangements since Chappell's exit. Chappell, however, has returned to India to take over as adviser to a local cricket academy in the western state of Rajasthan. Whatmore guided Sri Lanka to World Cup triumph in 1996 and helped Bangladesh reach the second round in the Caribbean this year. It included a shock first-round win over India.