Nepal coach Dassanayake runs into contract issues

Pubudu Dassanayake left Nepal on Wednesday, with his future as the national team's coach in doubt. Dassanayake was approaching the end of his contract, and told the media he had not heard from the Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN) about a renewal.

CAN secretary Ashok Nath Pyakuryal confirmed to ESPNcricinfo that Dassanayake had flown home, but added that the board is "confident" of renewing his contract.

"CAN has not communicated anything regarding my contract and I need to go home," Dassanayake told Republica. "I am not comfortable staying here without any documents. I will be putting my family at risk if I work without documents. That's why I have decided to leave.

"I leave it to CAN regarding my extension. Hopefully they will take a decision soon. However, I may not wait forever."

Pyakuryal played down the matter, saying: "Dassanayake usually travels back to his home country during the monsoon season in Nepal, as there is little cricket going on at that time. He was supposed to go at the end of June but decided to leave earlier."

An increase in Dassanayake's pay, Pyakuryal said, could be an issue, but the board is still looking to renew his contract. "We are confident of renewing his contract in June. There has been a negotiation on the amount paid and that has increased substantially, and thus the Asian Cricket Council funds might not be enough. We are looking to work these things out though and hopefully extend his contract by no less than a year."

In March, the CAN had said Dassanayake would get a year's extension to his contract. However, he was only given a three-month extension, which will run out later this month. The change in terms, Pyakuryal said, was due to the board being under investigation.

"A few months ago, he did have a discussion with the executive committee and it was agreed to extend his contract by a year. However, the board then came under an investigation by the Commission for Investigation into Abuse of Authority and as a result of such issues, it couldn't endorse the decision. His papers couldn't be arranged in time so he was given a three-month contract, which will expire this month."

Dassanayake, who had taken over in 2011, had guided Nepal through a period of success culminating in their first appearance at the World T20 earlier this year.

Since then, though, cricket in Nepal has gone through a difficult time, with the players coming close to boycotting the national one-day championship over a dispute with the board. The boycott was called off after the constitution of an advisory committee was set up, to monitor the development of cricket in the country - Dassanayake was included in the advisory committee.

In another controversy, last month, some members of CAN had filed a no-confidence motion against its president, Tanka Angbuhang Limbu, after the running of the Nepal Premier League was outsourced to a private sports management firm.