You must be doing something special if you are in demand even 16 years after your crowning moment.

For Coach Dav Whatmore, that moment was Sri Lanka’s memorable triumph at the 1996 World Cup. Before it, the Lankans were always the talented underdogs. The World Cup win completely transformed their game and set it on a course which has seen them ranked currently as one the top test and ODI teams.

He is much sought after in the subcontinent. Being part Asian, he understands the psyche and politics of the region. After contrasting stints in Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, Whatmore has now landed in Pakistan; definitely a more volatile set-up.

While he will surely employ a different game-plan in tackling Pakistan, it is worth examining what he did with Sri Lanka.

Within a matter of months of taking charge, he polished the highly talented side into world beaters. transformed a highly talented side into world beaters. He worked on the players’ fitness by bringing in Alex Kountouri from Australia as the team’s physio. This lifted the fielding standards of the already athletic team to even greater heights. It compensated for the weakness in the bowling department. This coupled with the batting firepower at their disposal, propelled Sri Lanka to the Cup. In addition to enhancing their skills, he also paid a great deal of attention to their psyche.

Whatmore was fortunate that he had under him a team brimming with unique and outstanding talent. What it lacked was consistency and that “winning” attitude. He instilled self belief and brought about ruthlessness.

And because was Sri Lankan born, he was keen to  give back something to his country of birth. Even though he spent a major part of his life in Australia, he was able to quickly fit into the Sri Lankan set-up. He picked up the local dialect pretty fast and conversed easily with the players. This was an added advantage he had over the coaches who succeeded him.

His first tenure as coach with Sri Lanka was a short one – he left before his two-year contract expired because of the differences he had with the captain Arjuna Ranatunga, the senior players, and the elected Board - which he felt did not offer him the support he needed to carry forward his plans for the future. One of them was to build a young team to defend the World Cup in England in three years time.

English county Lancashire grabbed him at the first opportunity and while they benefited immensely, Sri Lanka fared disastrously in the 1999 Cup, failing to go beyond the group stages.

By this time, a new set of cricket officials were in place in Sri Lanka. They knew the value of Whatmore and gave him all the assurances he needed to bring him back for a second stint with the Lions.

Although Sri Lanka didn’t win another World Cup under Whatmore, they made vast strides as a Test playing nation. They reeled off nine victories on the trot and capped this by winning the Asian Test Championship in 2001 by beating Pakistan in the final at Lahore - the venue of their World Cup triumph five years back. This has been Sri Lanka’s most successful run in Test cricket to-date.

Whatmore’s theory was simple. He always believed that in order to achieve big, one had to take small steps and not worry about the ultimate goal. He once said, “The main thrust is team work. It is also essential to understand that people are different. So achieving the desired outcome has to be a process, where the goal is approached through a series of sub goals - one step at a time.”

His success with Sri Lanka obviously had a great deal  with the available talent - something that Pakistan also has in abundance. He moulded them into a unit, providing them with the winning touch. And while he did not win any trophies with Bangladesh, he helped them turn the corner.

With the kind of natural ability Pakistan has – and without politics getting in the way - he will certainly be able to achieve the same results there – if not better. But he must be given a free hand to achieve his goals.

One of the areas he will definitely focus his energies on will be fielding, and for that he will have renowned English fielding coach Julien Fountain as his ally.

Pakistan is generally not known for having a strong work ethic, but in Whatmore they will come up against a hard taskmaster. He will bring about a sense of discipline into the team ranks - something that captain Misbah-ul-Haq has so-far maintained well. Without discipline there is no success, and Whatmore is a strong believer of that.

Whatmore’s task will be made a little tougher than usual because Pakistan plays its international matches in UAE, while domestic tournaments take place at home. It maybe a juggle but he is a scout who will not mind the travel back and forth.

A “lack of thinking” on the cricket field upsets him the most, and if, among other things, he is able to curb the tendencies of players like Umar Akmal, his stint will pay rich dividends for Pakistan.

Finally, the real key is that the man understands sub-continental politics more than any other foreign coach. He knows when to speak, when not to speak, and where to draw the line.

The author is the Sports Editor at The Nation (Sri Lanka)