Pakistan coach Dav Whatmore is upset by the remarks of Saeed Ajmal after the ace offspinner said the only differences between the Australian coach and his two Pakistani predecessors are the salary package and language barrier.

Ajmal told the TV sports channel Geo Super on Tuesday that former Pakistan internationals Waqar Younis and Mohsin Khan handled the players very well during their coaching stints, while Whatmore – a former Australia Test batsman who has previously coached Sri Lanka and Bangladesh – “doesn’t have the knowhow of our language.”

“It’s just the difference of money which we are giving to (foreign coaches), otherwise there’s no difference,” he said, defending the credentials of homegrown coaches.

Whatmore wrote on Twitter he had read Ajmal’s quotes and he was deeply hurt by the offspinner’s remarks.

Whatmore tweeted: “Just read Ajmal’s quotes. Deeply upset and hurt by his remarks. Just when you think you know someone!!”

Later on Wednesday, Whatmore tweeted: “Ajmal has personally come to apologise to me and explained the context of what he ment and I have accepted.

“I just want to add that Ajmal is a very nice person but has fallen prey to a few tricky questions.”

Ajmal’s comments come less than two weeks before Pakistan’s Test series against South Africa starts in the United Arab Emirates.

Whatmore was appointed coach in March last year by the Pakistan Cricket Board despite Khan having guided the team to a Test series victory against the then No.1-ranked England in the UAE.

Ajmal applauded Khan’s achievements and said he knew exactly how to encourage his batsmen and bowlers. He credited Younis with improving the fitness of the team, which also produced on-field results.

Ajmal made his Test debut in July 2009 against Sri Lanka – four months after gunmen attacked a Sri Lanka team convoy en route to a test in Lahore, forcing Pakistan to play away from home.

Since then, he has become an integral part of the team and taken 147 wickets in 28 Tests.

Whatmore isn’t the first foreigner to coach Pakistan – his predecessors in the job include Richard Pybus, Bob Woolmer and Geoff Lawson. But Ajmal thinks the senior players should be consulted before coaches are hired, whether they be foreign or local.

“The players’ understanding with the coach is very important,” he said. “Players should be asked which coach you like so that he (the coach) is beneficial to the players, to the team and to the country.”