Pubudu Dassanayake

Pubudu Bathiya Dassanayake (born 11 July 1970) is a Sri Lanka-born Canadian former international cricketer and coach who represented both Sri Lanka and Canada internationally.

He has coached Everest Premier League side Bhairahawa Gladiators, the United States, Canada, and Nepal.

Dassanayake was born in Kandy, Sri Lanka.

A wicket-keeper, he made his debut in first-class cricket in 1990, aged 19.

A wicket-keeper, he made his first-class debut in January 1990, aged 19, playing for the Colts Cricket Club during the 1989–90 season of the Lakspray Trophy.

Dassanayake switched to the Bloomfield Cricket and Athletic Club 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 in the Premadasa Trophy.

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.

Dassanayake's international debut came in August 1993, against South Africa.

Leapfrogging Ashley de Silva and Romesh Kaluwitharana (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.

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.

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 11 Tests and 16 One Day International (ODI) matches.

At the 1994 Austral-Asia Cup in the United Arab Emirates, Dassanayake played ODIs against Australia and New Zealand 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 (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.

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 and India A in December 1995, against Bangladesh and Pakistan A in February 1997, and against England A in February 1998.

His domestic career, which was played mostly for the Bloomfield Cricket and Athletic Club, continued until the 2000–01 season.

His domestic career with Bloomfield ended after the 2000–01 season.

Dassanayake immigrated to Canada in 2001, settling in Ontario.

After emigrating to Canada, Dassanayake made his international debut for Canada at the 2005 ICC Trophy.

He also represented the team in the 2005 and 2006 editions of the ICC Intercontinental Cup.

After meeting the residency qualifications, he made his international debut for Canada at the 2005 ICC Trophy, 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.

Later in the year, Dassanayake represented Canada in ICC Intercontinental Cup matches against Bermuda and the Cayman Islands, serving as captain in the absence of John Davison.

Against Bermuda, he played solely as a batsman, with Ashish Bagai taking the gloves.

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

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

After his retirement as a player, he was appointed head coach of the national team in August 2007, having earlier spent several months as acting head coach.

In August 2007 he was named as permanent coach of Canada, having been in temporary charge since June, replacing Andy Pick.

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.

Dassanayake was born in Kandy, in Sri Lanka's Central Province.