Former India batsman Sandeep Patil will take over as Director of Cricket Operations of the National Cricket Academy (NCA), Bangalore, replacing Dav Whatmore who resigned from the post recently.

Patil, a member of the 1993 World Cup winning squad, will take over charge with effect from November 1, a BCCI release said on Wednesday.

The 55-year-old Whatmore, a former Australian batsman who took over charge as NCA Director of Operations two years back, is widely believed to succeed John Buchanan [ Images ] as the coach of Kolkata Knight Riders [ Images ] after putting down his papers a couple of days ago, although an official announcement in this regard is still awaited.

The Knight Riders have been looking for a coach since sacking Buchanan after the Kolkata side's disastrous outing in the second edition of the Indian Premier League [ Images ] in South Africa [ Images ].

Whatmore, who enjoyed a short stint as a player with Australia [ Images ], is more renowned for his coaching abilities rather than his cricketing skills. He coached Sri Lanka [ Images ] to the 1996 World Cup title and then India to their under-19 World Cup triumph in Kuala Lumpur last year.