Former PAK, SL & BANG coach will now coach Baroda Ranji team!

Vadodara:The Baroda Cricket Association (BCA) on Sunday appointed Sri Lanka's World Cup winning Australian coach Dav Whatmore as the Ranji team coach as well as Director of Cricket.

"I will, obviously, coach the senior team. But apart from that, I will have to lay down a structure at the Under-19 and Under-23 levels to create a feeder system, along with the local coaches. It's a two-year contract to begin with, " Whatmore told ESPNcricinfo from Melbourne. 

Despite having some of the talented players in the team, Baroda had a poor outing in the Ranji Trophy last season and could win just two matches. 

With coach Sanath Kumar suffering a heart attack in the middle of the season, the team too struggled. Whatmore, who is taking over from Kumar this season,  understands that he will have initial challenges.

"They've been in the mid-table and, from what I've seen, their short-format game is not too bad, so it will be a good challenge to make them an all-round team," Whatmore said. 

"They've been in Elite A & B for a while in the Ranji Trophy, and you need to be a good team to remain there. My job is to see how we can build from there and make them a very competitive side across formats,'' he added.

Following a dismal season, Whatmore had parted ways with Kerala after spending three years with the southern side.

Whatmore has a rich volume of experience as a coach, having worked with four international sides, Zimbabwe most recently. He was in charge of Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Pakistan prior to that.

Whatmore was also in charge of India U-19 team that won the junior World Cup in Malaysia back in 2008 under Virat Kohli's captaincy.

In India, he has been involved with the National Cricket Academy and even coached Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL.(UNI)