Dhammika Prasad among five shortlisted candidates for Nepal head coach job

Five candidates have been shortlisted for the role of Nepal’s head coach, and one among them is former Sri Lanka cricketer Dhammika Prasad. The 40-year-old former fast bowler has recently undergone an online interview for the position of head coach, according to sources in the Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN).

Prasad, notably, served as the Nepal team's fast bowling consultant for two of the team's series', one against the United States and the other against Scotland. Russell Domingo (South Africa), Monty Desai (India), Glenn Pocknall (New Zealand), and Dav Whatmore (Australia) are the other four chosen and interviewed candidates.

Of these five, Whatmore is said to be the favorite. The Baroda Cricket Association (BCA) in India, however, has a contract with Whatmore that is valid till March 2023. Following India's Manoj Prabhakar's early termination from the contract, Whatmore failed to join the Nepal squad on time and as a result, was forced to step away from the coaching role.

Dhammika announced his retirement from international cricket at the age of 37, in February 2021. After playing his 25^th Test match for the Sri Lankan side, Dhammika sustained a serious shoulder injury which kept him away from the game for a long period of time. He marked his return to First Class cricket post recovery, but could not find a place back in the national side.

He was, however, one of Sri Lanka's top fast bowlers prior to that injury, and his 5 for 50 at Headingley in 2014 is famous in particular, as he helped Sri Lanka win their first series in England. Even though it was his lone five-wicket haul in Test cricket, he was very impressive in Sri Lanka's home games in 2015 and put up his best against the Indian side.

In the years leading up to his retirement, Prasad had been working on making a comeback in the Sri Lankan national side, but there had been some major changes in his bowling after he suffered the shoulder injury and underwent the surgery.

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