Manoj Prabhakar, a former pace bowler for India, has been named head coach of Nepal, according to the Nepal Cricket Association.
Pubudu Dassanayake, a 52-year-old former Sri Lanka Test wicketkeeper and batter who just resigned from his job to become the head coach of the Canada men's team, will be replaced by Prabhakar.
Prabhakar played 169 international matches for India as a bowling all-rounder. According to ICC, he has served as the head coach for three Ranji Trophy teams and as the bowling coach for Afghanistan in 2016.
"Former Indian star all-rounder and Ranji trophy-winning coach, Mr. Manoj Prabhakar from India has been appointed as the Head Coach of Nepal National Cricket Team," read a statement from the Cricket Association of Nepal announcing his appointment.
"Mr. Prabhakar has participated in 130 One-Day Internationals and 39 Test matches for India. He has coaching expertise having worked with the Delhi, Rajasthan, and UP Cricket Association Ranji Trophy teams, as well as the Afghanistan Cricket Team.
Prabhakar claimed that the talent in Nepali cricket intrigued him. "I'm really looking forward to working with the Nepal cricket team to build them into a cricketing force to be reckoned with," said the coach after observing the enthusiasm in cricket in Nepal, as well as their talent and skill level.
The appointment of Prabhakar comes at a critical time for Nepal cricket. Since Ireland and the United Arab Emirates qualified from the ICC Men's T20 World Cup Qualifier A event in Oman, they have been suffering in international cricket and missed out on the 2022 ICC Men's T20 World Cup in Australia.
With eight victories in 20 games, Nepal is presently ranked second to last in the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup League 2 standings.