This is not what good neighbours do. By dragging its feet on naming a successor to John Wright, the BCCI is keeping the Bangladesh Cricket Board on tenterhooks: Dav Whatmore, their national coach, is stalling on renewing his contract until he gets a call from India. Whatmore is one of the leading candidates — along with Greg Chappell and Tom Moody — to take over from Wright, who finished his tenure on Sunday. And like the other two frontrunners, Whatmore has already expressed a ‘‘deep interest’’ in taking the Indian role. Though Whatmore was unavailable for comment, sources close to him say a contract with the BCB is ‘close, but still not quite there’. That’s what the BCB also says. ‘‘We have not yet signed up a contract, but we are very close. We are aware of rumours floating around with regards to Dav. But we are in a practical field and this is an open market,’’ Reazuddin al-Mamoon, the BCB’s media committee chairman, told The Indian Express from Dhaka today. Though unwilling to speculate on ‘‘what happens if’’, Mamoon maintained that Whatmore as an individual was free to take his decision but BCB is still ‘‘very interested’’ in retaining him. ‘‘If the change does happen then we will have to look at other options,’’ he acknowledged. A top source in the Bangladesh cricket establishment said Whatmore, a former Australian Test batsman, had already spoken to the ‘‘right people’’ in Indian cricket. ‘‘No one knows what is happening. If he (Whatmore) wants the contract can be signed tomorrow. But we are all waiting to see what the BCCI does. He (Whatmore) has already spoken to Jagmohan Dalmiya and Sourav already so in a way he is very much in the loop,’’ explained the source. Whatmore’s current contract as Bangladesh team coach expires on April 30 and the team has leaves for a tour of England on May 7. Though not willing to speculate on what might happen, the source indicated that Whatmore was keeping all his options open. Essentially, the coach was looking for a contract with a ‘‘convenient’’ get-out clause that would allow him to jump ship if and when the BCCI offer comes through. ‘‘Even if he takes up the English assignment, Dav will still have enough time to come back from there and take up the Indian job before the Sri Lanka tour. And this is because he believes he can make a difference to the Indian team,’’ said the source.
