The Kerala Cricket Association (KCA) has reached an understanding with the 63-year-old in this regard, and an official announcement is expected next week.
Whatmore, who guided Sri Lanka to glory in the 1996 World Cup, will become Kerala's first foreign coach.
Apart from Australia, Whatmore has also coached Pakistan, Bangladesh and Zimbabwe national teams and Kolkata Knight Riders in the Indian Premier League (IPL).
Whatmore has played seven Tests for Australia and scored over 6000 runs for Victoria at first-class level.
Kerala, who suffered a dismal Ranji season the last time, had sacked head coach P Balachandran before replacing him with interim coach Tinu Yohannan.