Pubudu Dassanayake appointed Canada’s head coach hours after resigning as Nepal coach

In a recent development, Cricket Canada have appointed Pubudu Dassanayake as the head coach of their men’s cricket team.

The announcement comes hours after Dassanayake handed in his resignation to the Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN), standing down from his post as Nepal’s head coach.

He has represented Sri Lanka in 11 Tests and 16 ODIs.

Dassanayake’s first assignment with Canada will be in the ICC Cricket Cup Challenge League A, against teams like Denmark, Singapore, Malaysia, Qatar, and Vanuatu.

All matches will be played at the Maple Leaf Cricket Club in Ontario, starting July 27.

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One of the toughest decisions: Dassanayake

Speaking about his resignation at a conference in Kathmandu, Dassanayake said the decision was due to personal and family reasons.

He said, “It didn’t happen overnight, I have to take this decision due to some personal and family reasons. It is one of the toughest decisions… that I have to leave the team midway.”

Tenure as Nepal coach 

This was the Sri Lankan-born’s second stint with the Nepal national side, taking over from World Cup-winning coach Dav Whatmore in December 2021.

His first term with Nepal came between 2011 and 2015 when he guided the side to their first-ever appearance in the ICC T20 World Cup in 2014.

The 52-year-old further apologised to Nepali cricket fans for not keeping his promise of taking their side to greater heights.

“I apologise I could not finish the job, but I am happy inside that Nepal is moving forward in the right direction,” he said to Kathmandu Post. 

Second term as coach 

Nepal had contracted Dassanayake for two years, but he left after just eight months. Nepal failed to qualify for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup after not doing well in Qualifier A in Oman.

They couldn’t do well in the ICC Cricket League 2 held in Scotland earlier.

Strangely, previous coach Watmore’s stay also lasted for nine months before he left the job, citing personal reasons.

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