Dav Whatmore

Calcutta: It’s India calling for Dav Whatmore once again.

The former Sri Lanka and Bangladesh coach, who had earlier been rejected as a successor to Greg Chappell, has now been offered to join the Bangalore-based National Cricket Academy (NCA) as its director of operations.

According to a Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) statement, the new NCA chairman, Ravi Shastri, is in touch with the Australian.

It may be recalled that Whatmore also featured in the BCCI scheme of things for the NCA after the 2003 World Cup. The idea was to have him join the academy and gradually succeed the then coach John Wright once the New Zealander’s term ended. After negotiations, the move fizzled out in the last moment.

But it may become a reality if Whatmore gives his consent to the BCCI offer. It’s understood that one of the pre-conditions that Shastri had laid out while agreeing to chair the NCA in principal, was to have a permanent director at the academy.

According to the statement, Shastri — who had been India’s cricket manager during the tour of Bangladesh — has already got BCCI chief Sharad Pawar’s approval in initiating dialogues with Whatmore in this regard.

After his stint with Bangladesh, Whatmore expressed his interest to coach India following Chappell’s exit. He applied for the post in June and was seen as a frontrunner but, surprisingly, was not even short-listed for the job by the BCCI.

Whatmore, 53, guided Sri Lanka to their solitary World Cup title in 1996 and helped unfancied Bangladesh reach the World Cup second round for the first time this year after a shock win over India.

India have been without a coach since March and the BCCI has advertised for the post.