PTI
Chittagong, May 20: Bangladesh vice-captain Mohammad Ashraful feels Indian cricket would only gain if the BCCI manages to rope in Dav Whatmore as chief coach of the national team.
Describing Whatmore as a 'good coach', Ashraful said the Australian was well-versed with Asian conditions and the mentality of the players of the region after working as a coach for 11 years -- first with Sri Lanka and then with Bangladesh.
"I think India will gain if it got Whatmore. He was with us for four years, he knows a lot about world cricket. He is a good coach," Ashraful said.
"He was with Sri Lanka for seven years and four years with us. He knows the Asian mindset very well."
Ashraful said his own team benefited a lot from Whatmore's coaching.
"During the last two-three years, we have improved a lot and he has contributed significantly," he added.
Asked if he had become a better player himself, Ashraful said "the good thing about Whatmore is that if any player is going through bad time then (Whatmore) would encourage him to find out his fault himself. He was never too overbearing."
Spelling out Whatmore's qualities, Ashraful said, "He can inculcate self-belief and self-respect in players".
On whether the Bangladesh team faced any problems as Whatmore belongs to a different culture and spoke a different language, the Bangladesh bat said "never".
Whatmore is the front runner for the India job after Greg Chappell opted not to renew his contract post-World Cup.
BCCI satisfied with Whatmore meeting
PTI
New Delhi: After a series of denials on Saturday, BCCI on Sunday said that they have discussed with Dav Whatmore his interest in coaching the Indian team.
BCCI Secretary Niranjan Shah said he was "satisfied" with his "brief meeting" with Whatmore in Bangladesh and would report his feedback to the seven-member committee appointed to find a new coach for the Indian team.
"I met with him yesterday. I will report the details to the committee," Shah, who returned from Bangladesh on Sunday morning, said.
"I am satisfied with the meeting. It was a brief meeting, it lasted for 5-10 minutes. Whatmore expressed his desire to coach India," he added.
Shah along with BCCI President Sharad Pawar, Administrative Officer Ratnakar Shetty and Vice President Rajeev Shukla were in Bangladesh on Saturday on an invitation from the host board.
Both and Shah and Pawar denied during their press briefing that the purpose of their visit was to have a discussion with Whatmore who has emerged as a major contender for the post vacated by Australian Greg Chappell.
Asked about the turn of events, Shah said, "Whatmore wanted to meet me. I couldn't say 'no'."
The BCCI Secretary had earlier said that the seven-member committee, which includes former captains Ravi Shastri, S Venkataraghavan and Sunil Gavaskar, would meet in Bangalore on June 4 and the new coach would be named four-five days later.
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