Calcutta: Dav Whatmore has resigned as the head coach of the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), citing his inability to discharge his duties with the Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise as he wanted to pursue an international coaching role.

Whatmore is one of the frontrunners for the job of coaching the Pakistan national team. According to reports, he has also been invited by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) for a discussion over his contract details later this month.

For the record, Whatmore had earlier coached Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. In fact, he won the 1996 World Cup with Sri Lanka and was relatively successful with Bangladesh.

In his parting statement, Whatmore said, “The team (KKR) have progressed in the right direction... I wish the team continued success and look forward to them progressing to silverware in 2012. Many thanks to those who have supported and believed in me.”

Whatmore’s tenure as the KKR coach lasted for two seasons after he replaced John Buchanan in the third edition of IPL. In his first season, KKR finished sixth. The team bettered their performance in the next edition by reaching the knockout stages for the first time. As a result, they qualified for the Champions League T20s too.

Incidentally, Whatmore was also involved in various capacities with the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB), the parent body of the game in the state where KKR are based. He was appointed as the director for the development of junior cricket in Bengal on August 17, 2010 and was in-charge of overseeing the coaching of the under-14, under-16 and under-19 teams.

Now, as things suggest, his contract is likely to be terminated before it runs out in July, given the logistical reason that it will not be plausible for the Australian to continue with his duty if he becomes the coach of Pakistan.

The CAB, on its part, has said that they will discuss the matter with Whatmore before coming to a conclusion. “We are supposed to have a discussion with Whatmore on Wednesday,” said Biswarup Dey, CAB’s joint secretary.

KKR, meanwhile, have shown their solidarity with the Australian. KKR CEO Venky Mysore, in his statement, supported Whatmore in his decision and wished luck in his future endeavours.

“We have been most supportive of Whatmore’s keen interest in pursuing an international coaching role and wish him the very best. His decision to resign is to ensure that KKR are able to plan for the transition and we thank him for that,” Mysore said.

With the IPL V auctions slated for February 4, the likely replacement is expected to be announced very shortly.