Pubudu Bathiya Dassanayake ( ; born 11 July 1970) is a Sri Lanka-born Canadian former international

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

er and coach who represented both

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

and

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

internationally. He has coached

Everest Premier League Everest Premier League (EPL) ( ne, एभरेष्ट प्रिमियर लिग) is a franchise Twenty20 cricket tournament organized by EPL Pvt. Ltd., a private group in Nepal run by Aamir Akhtar alongside his team including Kie ...

side

Bhairahawa Gladiators Bhairahawa Gladiators is a professional cricket franchise team based in Bhairahawa city, Nepal which participates in the Everest Premier League. Under the leadership of captain Sharad Vesawkar, they reached the finals of 2017 and 2018 edition ...

, the United States national team, Canada, and

Nepal Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mai ...

. Dassanayake was born in

Kandy Kandy ( si, මහනුවර ''Mahanuwara'', ; ta, கண்டி Kandy, ) is a major city in Sri Lanka located in the Central Province. It was the last capital of the ancient kings' era of Sri Lanka. The city lies in the midst of hills ...

, Sri Lanka. A

wicket-keeper The wicket-keeper in the sport of cricket is the player on the fielding side who stands behind the wicket or stumps being watchful of the batsman and ready to take a catch, stump the batsman out and run out a batsman when occasion arises. Th ...

, he made his debut in

first-class cricket First-class cricket, along with List A cricket and Twenty20 cricket, is one of the highest-standard forms of cricket. A first-class match is one of three or more days' scheduled duration between two sides of eleven players each and is officiall ...

in 1990, at age of 19. Dassanayake's international debut came in August 1993, against

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

. He spent just over a year as Sri Lanka's first-choice wicket-keeper, with his last international matches coming on a 1994 tour of New Zealand. In total, Dassanayake represented Sri Lanka in eleven

Test Test(s), testing, or TEST may refer to: * Test (assessment), an educational assessment intended to measure the respondents' knowledge or other abilities Arts and entertainment * ''Test'' (2013 film), an American film * ''Test'' (2014 film), ...

s and sixteen

One Day International A One Day International (ODI) is a form of limited overs cricket, played between two teams with international status, in which each team faces a fixed number of overs, currently 50, with the game lasting up to 9 hours. The Cricket World C ...

(ODI) matches. His domestic career, which was played mostly for the

Bloomfield Cricket and Athletic Club Bloomfield Cricket and Athletic Club is a first-class cricket team based in Colombo, Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO () ...

, continued until the 2000–01 season. After emigrating to Canada, Dassanayake made his international debut for Canada at the

2005 ICC Trophy The 2005 ICC Trophy was a cricket tournament held in Ireland between 1 July and 13 July 2005. It was an international one-day tournament played over 50 overs per side between 12 Associate Members of the International Cricket Council. It served a ...

. He also represented the team in the

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...

and 2006 editions of the

ICC Intercontinental Cup The ICC Intercontinental Cup was a first-class cricket tournament organised by the International Cricket Council (ICC) as part of its cricket development programme. It was designed to allow Associate Members of the ICC the chance to play first ...

. After his retirement from playing, he was appointed head coach of the national team in August 2007, having earlier spent several months as acting head coach. Dassanayake oversaw Canada's successful qualification for the 2011 World Cup, resigning as coach after the tournament's completion. He was appointed coach of Nepal in October 2011, and served until October 2015, coaching the team at the 2014 World Twenty20. Dassanayake was appointed U.S. head coach in September 2016, but resigned in July 2019.

Playing career

Sri Lanka

Dassanayake was born in

, in Sri Lanka's Central Province.Sri Lanka / Players / Pubudu Dassanayake
ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 3 September 2016. A

, he made his first-class debut in January 1990, aged 19, playing for the

Colts Cricket Club Colts Cricket Club is a first-class cricket team based in Colombo, Sri Lanka. They have won 6 first class tournaments of Sri Lanka domestic league as in 1991/92, 1999/2000, 2001/02, 2004/05, 2008/09 and 2011/12 and 2 Premier Limited Overs Tourn ...

during the 1989–90 season of the

Lakspray Trophy The Major League Tournament (formerly known as the Premier Trophy) is the main domestic first-class cricket competition in Sri Lanka. It was established in 1938 and has existed under a number of different names. Matches before the 1988–89 seas ...

.First-class matches played by Pubudu Dassanayake
CricketArchive. Retrieved 3 September 2016. Dassanayake switched to the

for the 1990–91 season, but played only a single limited-overs game. He appeared in another four one-day games the following season, playing twice for Bloomfield in the Hatna Trophy and also twice for the

Sinhalese Sports Club The Singhalese Sports Club (SSC) is a first-class cricket club in Sri Lanka. Singhalese is the most successful club in Sri Lankan domestic cricket, having won the Premier Trophy a record 32 times to 2017. Although the name is correctly spelt wi ...

in the Premadasa Trophy.List A matches played by Pubudu Dassanayake
CricketArchive. Retrieved 3 September 2016. Beginning in mid-1992, Dassanayake began to be selected for representative teams, playing first-class tournaments for Central Province and a Sri Lankan under-23s team. He toured Bangladesh with Sri Lanka A in December 1992, and the following month toured South Africa with a Sri Lankan under-24s side. Leapfrogging

Ashley de Silva Ashley Matthew de Silva (born 3 December 1963) is a former Sri Lankan cricketer who played in three Test matches and four One Day Internationals from 1986 to 1993. He is, , CEO of Sri Lanka Cricket. De Silva was born in 1963 in Colombo into ...

and

Romesh Kaluwitharana Deshabandu Romesh Shantha Kaluwitharana ( si, රොමේෂ් ශාන්ත කලුවිතාරණ; born 24 November 1969) is a former Sri Lankan cricketer who represented the Sri Lanka national cricket team from 1990 to 2004. He was ...

(the two wicket-keepers used in Sri Lanka's previous series) for selection, Dassanayake made his international debut in August 1993, playing three Tests and two ODIs in a home series against South Africa.Statistics / Statsguru / PB Dassanayake / Test matches
ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 3 September 2016.
ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 3 September 2016. Prior to the first Test, he had impressed selectors by recording six dismissals in an innings in a warm-up game for a Sri Lanka Board XI. After his debut series, Dassanayake's next international was a one-off Test against the West Indies in December 1993. The following month, he was selected for a tour of India, playing in three Tests and one ODI. At the 1994

Austral-Asia Cup The Austral-Asia Cup was a One Day International cricket tournament held at Sharjah, United Arab Emirates. The Arab cricketer, enthusiast and millionaire Abdur Rahman Bukhathir brought cricket initially to Sharjah in the mid-1980s and he maste ...

in the United Arab Emirates, Dassanayake played ODIs against

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

and

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

for the first time. His next internationals came in a home series against Pakistan in August 1994. This was followed by the Singer World Series (a quadrangular ODI tournament hosted in Sri Lanka), and then by a tour of Zimbabwe. Dassanayake played his final international matches in December 1994, at the

Mandela Trophy The Mandela Trophy was a one-day International cricket tournament which took place from 2 December 1994 to 12 January 1995. The tournament was hosted by South Africa, who were one of the four sides competing, with the others being New Zealand, ...

(a one-off ODI tournament hosted in South Africa). He was unable to maintain his batting at the standard required for international competition, averaging just 13.06 across eleven Tests and 10.62 across sixteen ODIs. In his first domestic season after being dropped from the national team, Dassanayake scored two first-class centuries, including a career-high 144 for Bloomfield against the

Panadura Sports Club Panadura Sports Club is a first-class cricket team based in Panadura, Sri Lanka. Their home ground is the Panadura Public Ground History Panadura Sports Club has been in existence since 1924. The team has played first-class cricket since 1988– ...

. Although he never returned to the senior Sri Lankan team, he did play several more series for Sri Lanka A, appearing against the

United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia (The Middle East). It is located at th ...

and

India A The India A cricket team is a national cricket team representing India. It is the second-tier of Indian international cricket, below the full India national cricket team. The team is currently captained by Priyank Panchal in first-class cricket a ...

in December 1995, against

Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...

and

Pakistan A The Pakistan A cricket team, or Pakistan Shaheens, is a national cricket team representing Pakistan. It is the second-tier of international Pakistan cricket, below the full Pakistan national cricket team. Matches played by Pakistan A are not cons ...

in February 1997, and against England A in February 1998. His domestic career with Bloomfield ended after the 2000–01 season.

Canada

Dassanayake immigrated to Canada in 2001, settling in

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

. After meeting the residency qualifications, he made his international debut for Canada at the

, held in Ireland. He appeared in all seven of his team's matches, recording eight dismissals (five catches and three stumpings) and scoring 76 runs, with a highest score of 36 not out against

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

. Later in the year, Dassanayake represented Canada in

matches against

Bermuda ) , anthem = "God Save the King" , song_type = National song , song = " Hail to Bermuda" , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , mapsize2 = , map_caption2 = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = , e ...

and the

Cayman Islands The Cayman Islands () is a self-governing British Overseas Territory—the largest by population in the western Caribbean Sea. The territory comprises the three islands of Grand Cayman, Cayman Brac and Little Cayman, which are located to the ...

, serving as captain in the absence of John Davison. Against Bermuda, he played solely as a batsman, with

Ashish Bagai Ashish Bagai (born 26 January 1982) is the former captain of the Canadian cricket team. He is a right-handed batsman who specialises as a wicketkeeper. Early life He studied at St. Columba's School during his brief stay in Delhi, India. He ...

taking the gloves. Dassanayake's final appearance for Canada came in August 2006, in an Intercontinental Cup game against

Kenya ) , national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

. He was 36 at the time, and again played solely as a batsman.

Coaching career

Canada

In August 2007 he was named as permanent coach of

, having been in temporary charge since June, replacing Andy Pick. Dassanayake coached Canada for almost 4 years leading them to the

2011 Cricket World Cup The 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup was the tenth Cricket World Cup. It was played in India, Sri Lanka, and for the first time in Bangladesh. India won the tournament, defeating Sri Lanka by 6 wickets in the final at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, thus ...

where the country won only its second ever World Cup Match. Following the world cup, Dassanayake elected not to renew his contract with

Cricket Canada Cricket Canada, known as the Canadian Cricket Association (CCA) until November 2007, is the Sport governing body, governing body of cricket in Canada. It was established in 1892 and has its current headquarters in Toronto, Ontario. It administ ...

Nepal

Cricket Association of Nepal Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN) is the official governing body of cricket in Nepal. It was suspended from 2016 to 13 October 2019 due to governmental interference. The ICC welcomed the elections of the board held in September 2019 and for ...

(CAN) appointed him as the coach of

Nepal national cricket team The Nepal national cricket team ( ne, नेपाल राष्ट्रिय क्रिकेट टीम) nicknamed The Rhinos and Gorkhalis, represents the country of Nepal in International cricket and is governed by the Cricket Ass ...

on August 23, 2011, for six months. Fellow Sri Lankan

Roy Dias Roy Luke Dias (born 18 October 1952) is a former Sri Lankan cricketer who played Tests and ODIs for Sri Lanka. An elegant and stylish right-handed batsman he played 20 Test matches and became the first Sri Lankan to hit 1,000 Test runs. He ...

coached

Nepal cricket team The Nepal national cricket team ( ne, नेपाल राष्ट्रिय क्रिकेट टीम) nicknamed The Rhinos and Gorkhalis, represents the country of Nepal in International cricket and is governed by the Cricket As ...

for 9 years before leaving in 2011. Dassanayake has been a prolific sculptor in shaping Nepalese cricket. On his coaching Nepal has clinched

2013 ICC World Cricket League Division Three The 2013 ICC World Cricket League Division Three was a cricket tournament which took place from 28 April to 5 May 2013 in Bermuda. It formed part of the ICC World Cricket League and qualifying for the 2015 World Cup. Nepal were the pre-tournam ...

. So far Dassannayake has been true to his words about Nepalese cricket. Three years back he had mentioned in a press conference at the

Tribhuvan International Airport Tribhuvan International Airport ( Nepali: त्रिभुवन अन्तर्राष्ट्रिय विमानस्थल) (, colloquially referred to as TIA) is an international airport located in Kathmandu, Bagmati, Nepal. I ...

that he would make

play

ICC Cricket World Cup The Cricket World Cup (officially known as ICC Men's Cricket World Cup) is the international championship of One Day International (ODI) cricket. The event is organised by the sport's governing body, the International Cricket Council (ICC), ...

so far on his coaching,

has made a place in the

2014 ICC World Twenty20 The 2014 ICC World Twenty20 was the fifth ICC World Twenty20 competition, an international Twenty20 cricket tournament, that took place in Bangladesh from 16 March to 6 April 2014. It was played in three cities — Dhaka, Chittagong and Sylhet. Th ...

held at

. In October 2015, Dassanayake stepped down as Nepal coach, citing personal reasons, ending his four-year tenure in the role. His last game was against

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...

in November 2015. He was appointed as a consultant coach of Nepal for the match against Namibia in world cricket league and a match against MCC on the special request of ICC . In December 2021, Dassanayake was re-appointed as Nepal Cricket team head Coach.

re-selected Pubudu as Nepal's coach out of 15 shortlisted Coaches.He then resigned from the position on July 20, 2022

United States

In July 2016, Dassanayake was one of four candidates shortlisted for the vacant position of head coach of the U.S. national team. As part of the selection process, he served as a guest coach at a training camp for the national squad, and also coached a combined

ICC Americas ICC Americas is an international body which oversees cricket in countries in the Americas. It is a subordinate body to the International Cricket Council (ICC). The organisation currently has 17 members, located in Northern America, Central Ameri ...

invitational team at the

West Indies Cricket Board Cricket West Indies (CWI) is the governing body for cricket in the West Indies (a sporting confederation of over a dozen mainly English-speaking Caribbean countries and dependencies that once formed the British West Indies). It was originally ...

's under-19 tournament. In September 2016, it was announced that Dassanayake had won the position, with his first major tournament in charge to be the 2016 World Cricket League Division Four event in Los Angeles. The United States won the tournament and Dassanayake said "I wouldn't have settled for runner-up in the final" and that he was "very happy how things went in the final". In July 2019, Dassanayake resigned from his role as coach of the US national team. In August 2020, Dassanayake confirmed that he would be coaching franchise cricket in

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

Return to Nepal and Canada

Dassanayake re-joined Nepal as head coach in December 2021, but resigned in July 2022 in order to return as coach of Canada.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dassanayake, Pubudu 1970 births Bloomfield Cricket and Athletic Club cricketers Canadian cricketers Coaches of the Canada national cricket team Coaches of the Nepal national cricket team Colts Cricket Club cricketers Cricketers from Kandy Kandurata cricketers Living people Sinhalese Sports Club cricketers Sri Lankan cricket coaches Sri Lankan cricketers Sri Lankan emigrants to Canada Sri Lanka Test cricketers Sri Lanka One Day International cricketers Sri Lankan expatriates in Nepal Coaches of the United States national cricket team Sri Lankan expatriates in the United States Wicket-keepers