Cricket Canada Fires Head Coach Dassanayake Ahead of T20 World Cup 2024
In a surprising move, Pubudu Dassanayake was abruptly fired from his position as Cricket Canada’s coach after two years.
Dassanayake, who previously donned the jerseys of both Sri Lanka and Canada as a player, took the reins as Canada’s coach in July 2022. This wasn’t his first coaching stint, having previously guided Nepal on two occasions and the United States team as well.
Dassanayake steered Canada to victory in the Americas T20 Regional Final, booking their ticket to the upcoming T20 World Cup.
Rumblings of discontent had reportedly been brewing for some time within the Canadian team, and these issues intensified recently. The appointment of a new three-member selection panel, which excluded the head coach, seems to have further fueled the fire. This move came last month following controversial elections for the Cricket Canada board.
Also Read: Cricket Canada Announces T20 World Cup 2024 Squad, Saad Bin Zafar to Captain
Selection decisions made by the new panel also raised eyebrows, particularly the exclusion of established players like Nikhil Dutta and Jeremy Gordon. These omissions sparked concerns about the team’s direction and potentially contributed to the friction between the coach and some players.
The news came abruptly. On Wednesday, May 22nd, just days before the T20 World Cup, Pubudu Dassanayake was informed by Gurdeep Klair, the newly elected Cricket Canada vice president, that his role as head coach would conclude after the ongoing preparatory matches in St. Kitts finished (the last of which happened today).
According to the report, a letter critical of Dassanayake’s coaching circulated among some players, though it wasn’t widely endorsed by the entire squad. Despite this, Cricket Canada found enough evidence within the letter or through other means to justify his dismissal.
The replacement of Dassanayake has not been announced as of yet and Canada is set to play the opening match of the T20 World Cup on June 1st that too against the first-timer co-hosts USA in Dallas, USA.
