Indian cricket will only gain from Whatmore: Ashraful

CHITTAGONG, May 20: Bangladesh vice-captain Mohammad Ashraful feels Indian cricket would only gain if the BCCI manages to rope in Dav Whatmore as chief coach of the national team.
Describing Whatmore as a "good coach", Ashraful said the Australian was well-versed with Asian conditions and the mentality of the players of the region after working as a coach for 11 years -- first with Sri Lanka and then with Bangladesh.
"I think India will gain if it got Whatmore. He was with us for four years, he knows a lot about world cricket. He is a good coach," Ashraful said in an interview on Sunday.
"He was with Sri Lanka for seven years and four years with us. He knows the Asian mindset very well."
Ashraful said his own team benefited a lot from Whatmore's coaching.
"During the last two-three years, we have improved a lot and he has contributed significantly," he added.
Asked if he had become a better player himself, Ashraful said "the good thing about Whatmore is that if any player is going through bad time then (Whatmore) would encourage him to find out his fault himself. He was never too overbearing."
Spelling out Whatmore's qualities, Ashraful said "he can inculcate self-belief and self-respect in players."
On whether the Bangladesh team faced any problems as Whatmore belongs to a different culture and spoke a different language, the Bangladesh bat said "never."
Whatmore is the front runner for the India job after Greg Chappell opted not to renew his contract post-World Cup.