By Muhammad Asif Khan
KARACHI: After an extensive deliberation the
Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has finally appointed Dev Whatmore as the head
coach for the national team. The entry of the fourth foreign coach in Pakistan’s
cricket history is seen as a welcome move by many however, former Captain
Rashid Latif has a different philosophy to look at it. He fears that due the
huge gap between the mindsets and approach the appointment of Dev Whatmore could
have an adverse effect. "In Pakistan, we want rapid results,
however, top foreign coaches believe in a long-term strategy. These contrasting
mind-sets could lead to a disaster, I am afraid", said Latif while talking
to this correspondent.
Whatmore, who has played seven
tests for Australia, came to
the limelight when under his guidance Sri Lanka won the 1996 World Cup.
Afterwards, he joined Bangladesh
and also led them to their maiden test match and series win in 2005.
Along with Whatmore, the PCB also
employed Englishmen Julian Fountain as the fielding coach. Both men have taken
charge of the team to prepare them for the upcoming Asia Cup Cricket tournament
starting from March 11th in Bangladesh.
Latif further said that now the
board had taken the decision therefore it should be supported rather than
criticised. "Now since they are our national coaches therefore we have no
other choice but to support them. I wish them success", concludes Latif,
who himself is a qualified coach and have been successfully managing several
academies in Pakistan.
Prior to Whatmore, Pakistan
have had Richard Pybus, Bob Woolmer and Geoff Lawson as their foreign coaches
and despite the results under these foreigners the PCB Chairman, Zaka Ashraf
was adamant for yet another experiment.
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