PTI

Dhaka, May 29: Outgoing Bangladesh cricket coach Dav Whatmore, who is eyeing the top job in India, believes the captain is the boss of a team.

"Definitely, captain is the boss. He is in-charge of the team," Whatmore said at a media interaction in Dhaka.

Pointing out that the job of a cricket coach was still evolving, Whatmore said, "it's the players who make a coach. They are the ones who have to go to the battlefield. The coach creates an environment where the best in the boys come out."

Asked if it was proper to put the blame on the coach if a team loses, he said, "when a team wins, the players get the accolades. And so, when a team loses, everyone should share responsibility."

To a query if he was in favour of the coach having the voting right in selection committee meetings, the former Australian batsman said he had a flexible stand on that.

"I had a vote in selection meetings in Bangladesh. But if you ask me whether I subscribe to that, I will say I don't. It all depends on the situation in a particular country," he said.

Whatmore, on how he would handle the Indian superstars and their varying egos, said a coach should be able to communicate to all sorts of players.

"Part of the coach's job is to be able to communicate differently with all sorts of players with the single aim of enabling the team to win," he said.

"What a coach provides to one set of players is different from what he provides to the other set. The coach must be able to provide the right thing at the right time at the right level," Whatmore said.

"It is no surprise that there will be lot of superstars in India, which has a rich cricketing tradition. And one needs to create new stars so that people remain glued to the game," he added.

But Whatmore refused to go deeper into the matter, saying it would not be proper for him to comment unless he had a first hand knowledge of the players.

Whatmore said he was aware of former Indian coach Greg Chappell's problems with superstars.

"When one goes into things one doesn't keep his eyes closed. My eyes are open. But I don't want to comment on Greg's methods. He is a fantastic person whom I personally know," he said.

On whether he would prefer a break or join the job of coaching India straightaway if the BCCI gave the nod, the Sri Lanka-born Aussie said, "in an ideal world I would have

preferred a break. But international cricket does not give time."