"Coaching is challenging and I´m here to face it," said Dassanayake, addressing the Nepali media for the first time.[break]
"My first assignment is to qualify for the Twenty20 World Cup qualifiers through the ACC Twenty20," he added.
The ACC Twenty20 is scheduled to be held in Kathmandu in December.
Dassanayake said he heard of Nepal through ACC (Asian Cricket Council) and former coach Roy Luke Dias. "I left Canada´s duty last April. Through ACC and Dias, I heard that there are more opportunities in Nepal," he said. "I heard there are good and talented players. There´s a lot Nepal can do.
CAN President Pandey said qualifying for the T20 World Cup Qualifiers would be the coach´s first target. "If we reach the ACC T20 semifinals, we can qualify for the next round and we´ll start training camp after Dashain," said Pandey. "We´ll provide him a bunch of senior and U-19 players in the camp," he added.
CAN has appointed former Sri Lankan and Canadian cricketer as the coach on August 23 for six months. "He has assured us that he´ll be with us, if we qualify for the T20 World Cup Qualifiers to be held in March next year," said Pandey. "However, I can expect our partnership will last long," he added.
Dassanayake, 41, guided Canada to the World Cup 2011 as a coach and is expected to take the Nepali cricket to a higher level. "Before appointing him, we had a consultation with friends in Sri Lanka Cricket Board and they suggested to us that Dassanayake would be the best option for a country like Nepal," said Pandey. "There were other people interested for the job but CAN considered him to be the best," he added.
Pandey said Dassanayake would give his inputs for preparation of the five-year development program of CAN. "He will be available fulltime and work as a coach," said Pandey.
Pandey claimed that CAN is reviewing the current structure of Nepali cricket and Dassanayake will help them in the process.
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