Former Nepal coach Pubudu Dassanayke has been appointed as the Head Coach of the USA National Team. In an official statement issued by ICC Americas today, the announcement was made alongside the appointment of Eric Parthen as the Project Manager who will lead the implementation of the strategic plan to help grow the sport in the USA.
The statement quotes Dassanayke as , “I am delighted to have been given the opportunity to coach the USA, especially at what is an exciting time for USA cricket. I believe there is a great deal of talent here, it will just require hard work from everyone involved to get the best out of these players and hopefully see US cricket progress to higher honours. Our initial focus is on preparing the senior team for the WCL Division 4 event in LA next month. That is the first step on what I hope will be a successful journey.”
Dassanayake’s coaching records are almost enviable for anyone leading national team at Associate level, having most recently overseen the rise of Nepal from WCL Division 4 to the World Cricket League Championship and competing in the 2014 ICC T20 World Cup. Prior to his work with Nepal, he also coached Canada to reach the 2011 ICC World Cup.
Both appointments were made following a competitive recruitment process that attracted a significant number of strong applications from within the US and internationally.