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Happy to see progress of Virat Kohli, Ravindra Jadeja: Dav Whatmore

Surely, Dav Whatmore has a tough time updating his resume.

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Surely, Dav Whatmore has a tough time updating his resume.

Born in Sri Lanka and raised in Australia, he represented Victoria with distinction before enjoying moderate success in international cricket — seven Tests and an ODI — before retiring in 1989 to seek a career in coaching.
That's only one part of the story.

He masterminded Sri Lanka's glorious campaign in the 1996 World Cup, turned around the fortunes of Lancashire on the county circuit, created a sense of professionalism in the Bangladesh set-up, served as director of the National Cricket Academy in Bangalore, coached Virat Kohli & Co. to victory in the ICC Under-19 World Cup in 2008 and took charge of Kolkata Knight Riders before taking over the reins of the Pakistan team. Now, he is the head coach of Zimbabwe. Given that the Chevrons will go into their last Group 'B' game against India in Auckland on Saturday with nothing to gain or lose, Whatmore could well be plotting his next move.

Naturally, the 60-year-old keeps a close eye on the happenings in world cricket. India's spectacular run in the tournament has obviously caught his eye.

"It is a team that is bowling the opposition out frequently and that has been a big plus for India. Their batting talent has never really been in question. What was needed was a good strong bowling performance and they have done that," Whatmore said after his team's training session at Eden Park on Thursday.

Two chaps from the Under-19 Class of 2008 are part of the Indian team now. Whatmore is only happy to see Kohli and Ravindra Jadeja making waves in international cricket.

"Like any young player, if you are involved in their development, it is always nice to see progress. To be very honest with you, I was only there for a short period of time but the time I spent with them was enjoyable. It wasn't difficult to see that they had potential to go on and it is nice to see they have realised it. There is still more for them to do," he said.

He singled out Kohli for praise. "He is confident. He was confident during his time as India Under-19 captain. But, there have been many examples of confident young players who don't follow up and follow through. He is one who has," Whatmore explained.

In this World Cup, Zimbabwe have lost to South Africa, the West Indies, Pakistan and Ireland, but managed to beat the United Arab Emirates. However, they gave a good account of themselves in every game.

On Saturday, they will probably see the last of the talismanic Brendan Taylor. Nottinghamshire have signed the Test captain as a 'Kolpak player'. The agreement means Taylor will be retiring from international cricket at the end of the World Cup.

"It is true that we will be missing Brendan Taylor, who is going to Nottingham, and they are very, very lucky to have him. Despite that, we feel we have got a number of players who make this team really strong in terms of what they offer," he said.

There was a time when Zimbabwe were a force to reckon with. Boasting world-class players like Andy Flower, Grant Flower, Alastair Campbell and Heath Streak, they used to beat the big sides, including India, rather easily.

That's not the case now. Whatmore spoke of the need for Zimbabwe to play the top sides more often.

"I am not sure how many games (against big teams) we have played in 2014 in one-day cricket, but it is really not much at all," he said.

Whatmore would be happy to know that India and New Zealand are set to tour Zimbabwe later this year. Media reports have also quoted Zimbabwe Cricket general manager (cricket affairs) Campbell as quoting that the board is in talks with Pakistan and Ireland.

That would be something for him to look forward to.

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