Sri Lanka’s Pubudu Dassanayake Announced as the New Head Coach by USA Cricket

USA Cricket has announced the appointment of former Sri Lankan and Canadian international, Pubudu Dassanayake, as the head coach of the men’s national side. This will be Dassanayake’s second stint with the U.S. men’s team, having previously served in the same role from 2016 to 2019.

The men's head coach position had remained vacant since the departure of Stuart Law, who left the role at the end of last year. The former Australian batter had a strong run with the men’s side, guiding them into the knockout stage of the T20 World Cup last year, which included a historic win against a much stronger Pakistan team.

Dassanayake’s second term is expected to be just as challenging as his first. When he initially took charge of the U.S. men's cricket team in 2016, the country was still relatively new to the cricketing world and had yet to record any major achievements in its brief history. Nevertheless, he helped elevate the team to one of the top associate nations and secured ODI status for them.

After leaving the USA role, Dassanayake went on to coach Canada and Nepal’s national sides. Notably, he helped Nepal qualify for their first T20 World Cup and guided them to an appearance in last year’s T20 World Cup, co-hosted by the USA and West Indies.

This time, the expectations are higher. The U.S. side has already qualified for the T20 World Cup, scheduled to be held in India in 2026. Dassanayake will be aiming to take the team a step further—potentially to the semi-finals or even the final.

“It’s an honour to return and lead the USA Men’s National Team,” Dassanayake said. “I’m proud of what we accomplished during my previous time here, and I see tremendous potential in this group to reach even greater heights. I look forward to working closely with the players and staff to continue building something meaningful for USA Cricket.”