Canada Part Ways with Head Coach Dassanyake on the eve of the World Cup

Just a few days left before the T20 World Cup, Canada has dismissed Pubudu Dassanayake from his role as Head Coach. A role which he held for 2 years. A former Sri Lankan and Canadian player has had two stints with the Canada Team. He took over the reins in July 2022. Previously he has coached the Nepal Cricket Team twice and the United States.

In his second stint Dassanyake took Canadian Cricket to new heights, he took them to America's regional T20 Final which helped them qualify for this edition's T20 World Cup. He also helped Canada to reclaim their ODI status during the 2023 World Cup Qualifier Playoff. Canada also earned a promotion from CWC Challenge League to CWC League 2 where they sit comfortably at the top as they are unbeaten.

The Canada Dressing Room in recent times has been tense with some controversial calls taken from the new 3-member selection panel which was appointed last month excluding the the head coach, these appointments were made after the elections in the Canadian board. The omission of Nikhil Dutta and Jeremy Gordon raised Eyebrows.

The News was made clear to Dassanyake on May 22 by Canadian Cricket Vice President Mr. Gurdeep Klair that he is no longer required in the setup, following the ongoing preparatory games being played at St. Kitts the last of which was completed today.

There are also rumors that a letter sent expressing dissatisfaction had been circulated among the players, even though many members of the team declined to put their signatures on the letter. Cricket Canada has stated many reasons for his dismissal, a board meeting is scheduled for later in the day where the topic will be taken into consideration. The chances of retention are slim.

Meanwhile, Cricket Canada hasn't named a replacement yet, Canada will play the opening match of the T20 World Cup Against the USA in Dallas on June 1.