Sri Lanka´s former Test cricketer Pubudu Dasanayake is all set to take the job of the coach of Nepal. If all goes as planned, executive committee meeting of Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN) on Tuesday will appoint Dasanayake as successor of Roy Dias.
A technical committee led by CAN Vice President Shree Harsha Koirala shortlisted Dasanayake, another Sri Lankan cricketer Charith Senanayake and England cricketer of Pakistini origin Aftab Habib for the job.
The technical committee also includes CAN General Secretary Tanka Paneru, Secretary Tarak Mani Dixit and Members Arun Satyal and Uttam Karmacharya.
Dasanayake, 41, had played 11 Test and 16 One-Day-International matches for Sri Lanka and also played 108 First Class matches. He was coach for Canadian national team for the last four years. Dasanayake, former wicketkeeper batsman, was successful coach for Canada as the team qualified for the World Cup 2011 under his guidance. However, he has not renewed his contract with Canada.
According to a CAN source, Dasanayake had sought $ 10000 per month to take the charge of Nepali cricket but later settled for $ 5000 per month. “We´d discussed different names in the technical committee meeting and I´d suggested that the coach above fourty could be outdated and unaware of latest technology,” said General Secretary Paneru.
As former Sri Lankan cricketer Roy Luke Dias returned Colombo last December after completing his 9-year long tenure in Nepal, CAN was looking for a foreign coach.
Dasanayake will be the second Sri Lankan coach for Nepal if CAN appoints him. Dias has recently taken the charge of Oman.
Dasanayake had debuted against South Africa in 1993 in Test and scored 196 runs in 17 innings with an average of 13.06. He had scored 85 runs in 16 ODI-s for Sri Lanka. In 2001, Dasanayake moved to Canada and played for the Canadian team. He was captain of Canada in 2005. He was appointed provisional coach in 2007 and later given the full charge of the Canadian team. He took Canada into the World Cup and gained popularity as a coach.
Senanayake, 49, played three Test and seven ODI matches. He had made his Test debut in 1991 against New Zealand. Senanayake was team manager of Sri Lankan cricket team in 2008.
Habib is a familiar name for Nepali cricketers. He had played two Test matches against New Zealand and he coached Hong Kong in 2007. Under his guidance Hong Kong won ACC Trophy Elite Cup held in Malaysia in 2008 and ACC U-19 Elite Cup held in Kuwait 2009.
Nepal had defeated Hong Kong by 44 runs in the first match of the ACC Trophy, but Habib guided Hong Kong to win the trophy. Habib had visited Nepal during the ACC U-17 Elite Cup in 2008. He was here to watch Hong Kong team during the tournament.
Photo Courtesy: CricInfo / Player Profile of Dasanayake at CricInfo