Whatmore won’t renew as Pakistan coach, will leave job in February

The Pakistan Cricket Board and Dav Whatmore 'mutually agreed' to conclude his contract on February 28, 2014.

Dav Whatmore took over as Pakistan coach in March 2012 but has come under fire recently for Pakistan's poor results. Asif Hassan / AFP

LAHORE, Pakistan // Pakistan coach Dav Whatmore will leave his job at the end of February, the country’s cricket board said Tuesday, saying a mutual agreement had been reached not to extend his contract.

The 59 year old former Australian batsman, who took over in March 2012, has faced mounting criticism over Pakistan’s dismal run of results in recent months, with ex-players regularly calling for him to go.

Pakistan went down by 117 runs to South Africa in Sharjah on Monday, completing a 4-1 defeat in their one-day series.

The Proteas have given Pakistan a torrid time in 2013, beating them 3-0 in Tests and 3-2 in one-day internationals in South Africa in February-March.

Under Whatmore, who led Sri Lanka to their World Cup victory in 1996, Pakistan have not won a single Test series and the Pakistan Cricket Board’s (PCB) interim chairman admitted on Friday he was under pressure to sack him.

But the board said Whatmore had decided not to seek an extension to his contract, which expires at the end of February.

“Whatmore had informed the PCB that he would not be seeking a renewal of his contract due to his personal and family reasons,” said a PCB release.

“Under the circumstances, the PCB and Whatmore have mutually agreed to conclude the contract on February 28, 2014.”

Whatmore’s last assignment will be a series against Sri Lanka in the United Arab Emirates in December-January.

Former paceman and coach Waqar Younis and former captain Moin Khan are in the running to replace him.

The Pakistani squad, meanwhile, will look to win the two-match Twenty20 series against South Africa starting on Wednesday to go to the top of the rankings in the shortest format of the game.

Besides improvement in the rankings, both the teams will also seek to get tuned up for the fifth edition of the World Twenty20 to be held in Bangladesh in March and April next year.

Pakistan captain Mohammad Hafeez said his team, ranked second behind Sri Lanka, are eager to win both games.

“Of course it will be a big thing if we attain the number one ranking but for us it is more important to win Wednesday’s game and then think for the second,” said Hafeez at the launch of the Twenty20 Cup.

Both matches will be played in Dubai, with the second clash taking place on Friday.

“This series is also important for the fact that we have the World Twenty20 in four months so we have discussed it and want to have the same group of players so that we have a settled squad for the mega event,” said Hafeez.

Pakistan will also look to put behind them the 4-1 thrashing in the five-match one-day series which finished on Monday, and Hafeez said it will be important to forget that loss.

“We are disappointed at the one-day series loss but we have to put that behind us, it’s a new format and some new players have boosted our strength so we will definitely get better results,” said the 33 year old.

Pakistan are bolstered by the return of all-rounders Abdul Razzaq and Shoaib Malik, while South Africa welcome Twenty20 specialists in Henry Davids, Aaron Phangiso and David Wiese as well as pace spearhead Dale Steyn, who has not played a T20 since December last year.

South African captain Faf du Plessis said his team will start the series with confidence.

“I think it’s nice to go into the series with a momentum and the confidence is there although it’s a different format and slightly different team but we look forward to it,” said Du Plessis, who also sought to underline the importance of gearing up for the World Twenty20.

“We must find the right balance with the World Twenty20 in the sub-continent, which will have similar conditions to here,” said Du Plessis.

Teams:

Pakistan: Mohammad Hafeez (capt), Nasir Jamshed, Ahmed Shehzad, Umar Akmal, Umar Amin, Shahid Afridi, Sohaib Maqsood, Abdul Razzaq, Sohail Tanvir, Mohammad Irfan, Junaid Khan, Saeed Ajmal, Shoaib Malik, Abdur Rehman.

South Africa: Faf du Plessis (capt), Hashim Amla, Henry Davids, Quinton de Kock, AB de Villiers, JP Duminy, Imran Tahir, Ryan McLaren, David Miller, Morne Morkel, Wayne Parnell, Aaron Phangiso, Dale Steyn, Lonwabo Tsotsobe, David Wiese.