Pubudu Dassanayake was the man behind Nepali cricket team’s tremendous success since 2011. During his four-year stay, the Sri Lanka-born Canadian coach guided Nepal to World Twenty20 and also bagged a lot of accolades with the national team. Dassanayake has resigned from his job and is returning to his country this week. In this context, Mahesh Acharya of The Himalayan Times had a rendezvous with Dassanayke. Excerpts:

What brought you to Nepal when you accepted the job?

In 2011 World Cup in India, I was with the Canadian team. I got an email from the then Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN) President Binaya Raj Pandey asking me if I was interested to join Nepal. I even didn’t have plans to leave Canada then. But after going through the Nepali team and whole country structure, I thought this is the place to go thinking that I can bring some changes take the team forward. So I decided to join Nepal.

Did you know about Nepal cricket at that time?

I had not watched Nepali cricket. At that time, Roy Dias was here and he was coaching the team for a while. I think it’s in 2000 when Nepal came for U-19 World Cup in Sri Lanka when I was doing commentary for a television. I was able to do one match but I was not that aware of the players. When Pandey offered me the job, I went through YouTube and Google and talked with Roy and other ACC officials. I got a lot of positive feedback from them which made my decision easier.

What was the challenge for you?

I was actually looking for a team where I can prove myself and bring it above in the ranking and I think I made the right decision at that time.

What was your target when you took over the job?

I came here only for six months. Actually I came for ACC T20 Cup, so my job was to get through it. After looking at all the aspects, I had mentioned that if I stay here for a long time, I will guide Nepal to the World Cup and bring the team to World Cricket League Division-I.

How was your four-year stay in Nepal?

For me personally it’s memorable, there were lots of good time here with the team and with the whole cricketing culture here and I am glad that we came in the ICC ranking from Division-IV to Division-I. Winning the ACC Elite Division was not that easy against the likes of UAE and Afghanistan and that was a big tournament to win. And I enjoyed the players’ improvement during that time, every player came up pretty well. When I came here our fast bowling attack was not that penetrative and now we have a very good fast bowling attack. Even the batting, I would say, has improved a lot. As we are in Division-I, which is more challenging, still we are not powerful at opening pair. But it’s not weak. We have highly talented players and they need to adjust into that level. All of them are in right shape.

What is the difference in Nepali cricket then and now?

It’s all about mental toughness. Now the players believe that they belong to Division-I or above. And they believe that they can go to another World Cup and winning tournaments. They are very strong characters in the team.

How did controversies affect in cricket development?

In the last three years when we were playing in lower divisions, we had few issues...It was all about how much we support players financially and how can they be benefited. Structure-wise we needed best facilities to train to create good pathway and opportunities to the players. All these come in a chain. We had to struggle for all these but the team was strong enough to perform in that environment in lower division. But now we are in Division-I. For me the best example was against PNG. They have been in Division-I for a long time but Nepal and Hong Kong were playing for the first time in this tournament. Every team understand what they need to perform, everything matters — players’ payment, practice facilities and the environment along with encouragement to the players. Every team is trying hard with the best programmes. We are way behind in these aspects.

Any special moment with players?

There are many special moments with the players. But I would like to remember incidents with Sharad (Vesawkar) and Shakti Gauchan during the World Cup Qualifiers camp in 2012. I spoke with both of them and told them they were one of the best players for 50-over format and asked them to concentrate on that. The other day, both of them came to me and said that they would work hard for Twenty20 format. I considered them seeing their confidence and commitment. If we look back to the qualifiers and the World Cup, Sharad was the key batsman and Shakti was another pillar in our campaign. For me, these two incidents are highlights of my coaching which I can tell others to encourage them.

The happiest moment or the most satisfied moment as a coach?

Qualifying for the World Twenty20 was the best satisfactory one. But every tournament that we won and every match we played in Division-IV, III, II and I are special. The biggest horror was in Division-III in Bermuda when we lost the first two games and people started saying give up cricket and there is no future in cricket. The success came at the last hour, we are waiting for the USA-Bermuda match result and when we heard USA lost the game, it was a great moment altogether. We regrouped with passion and when we won the tournament we sang Rato ra Chandra Surya….. These are the moments I will never forget.

Disappointing moments?

There are many...my main disappointing factor was in earlier days when the players did not have financial support despite putting in huge amount of efforts by them. They needed to support their family and future was not certain. You need to some financial backing from your field. That side was slow and I think that is still not managed properly. Another aspect if we have a lot of challenges with the environments from the management side.

How was your relation with CAN, especially after ministry hired you?

From my side there was no issue. I fought for the things for Nepal cricket and I don’t have any personal grudges to anyone. May be my mistake was to be straightforward for the benefit for cricket and the team. Except for that, many people helped me. I will take only my good memories with me.

Don’t you think that you are leaving Nepali cricket midway through the journey?

Someone can say that. But if I cannot perform well, I can’t stay here. I have to perform well.... There are so many factors when it comes to players’ performance and I didn’t have those powers to get them on my own. If we are in a situation to get those factors, I am happy to come back if Nepal needs me. I know how much these boys put hard work, they are going to struggle in WCL if they don’t get that environment and support from the administrators.

Is that the reason you decided to leave?

There are two reasons. One is personal and I want to be with my family. Another is performance factor. If I am here, there is no doubt that I need to take this side again in the World Cup. For that a lot of things needed to be changed and at present we have not taken the first step towards that.

Do you think that your mission is accomplished?

Personally, I wanted to see Nepal as an ODI nation and playing I-Cup, four-day cricket. Now Nepal is playing WCL Division-I, I still think that team is still in hot water because we don’t have environment to play at that level. If you will be an ODI country or I-Cup team, we will be in more trouble, especially the players. The preparation part and other matters are not good enough and that has to be changed to move forward. At this point, Nepal is in very important crossroad. We need to change things to support the team and if it will not happen the team will be at the bottom in the WCL.

Are there any chances to come back?

My heart is always with Nepal. Some people said that I came here because I was paid a handsome amount. I never asked a figure as my salary. I took whatever I got. I just wanted to see Nepal team grow and do well. There is another aspect, CAN election is coming. A new board will come. The ball is in their court, whether they want me to come or not.

Message for the fans

I am pretty sure fans are disappointed that we lost few games. But on the ground, especially in the WCL, Nepal played against high-quality opponent. The team has improved but we lost as others teams are way ahead of us. I just want to say fans to have little faith until this team settles down in this level. And I am hundred per cent sure that they will come back and do well again. Nepal will go to the World Cup again and also become an ODI nation. This is a tough period and I hope fans will keep supporting the team.