By Adeyemi Robinson-Adefioye,Lagos
The Nigeria Cricket Federation has part of doubling her development programme one of the game’s most respected development Coach, Asanka Gurusinha and would be unveiling him later in December in an event planned for Abuja.
The President of the Federation, Professor Yahaya Ukwenya, said the hiring is a big leap for Cricket development in the country and it is one that has enjoyed the support of the Honourable Minister of Sports and Youth Development, Mr Sunday Dare.
“In the three years we have been privileged to lead the Cricketed Federation, it has been very pleasing for us to move the sports from one level to the other. First was the honour of securing a division one promotion for the country and again qualifying for the U-19 World Cup for the first time
“These are special moments for us as a nation, especially the unique way that we announced ourselves to the World Cup stage. But since the Covid-19 forced lockdown we have concentrated on developing our personnel and facilities.
“And finally we are hiring a foreign coach to help bring together all our different developmental efforts together and channel them to purposeful end. The Honourable Minister, Sunday dare has been very supportive of our plans and his immeasurable support has been the energy behind our successes.”
The Coach’s experience is expected to impart on national teams’ strategies and performance at elite level, as Nigeria is poised to feature in more international tournaments in the near future and also improve her performance in world Cricket rankings.
The new coach will head the high performance unit of the Federation and also act as coach trainer and mentor to our indigenous coaches.
Ukwenya added that; “The appointment of Asanka marks another milestone in this administration’s desire to raise the standard of the game in the country both at the elite and development level, because Nigeria can no longer take a passing interest in World Cricket, we should be able to compete at all levels we play and not just make up the numbers” .
The official unveiling of the head coach is scheduled to take place on the 8th of December 2020 at the Velodrome, National Stadium Package A, Abuja. Officials of the Federal Ministry of Youth and Sports Development (FMYSD), Officials of the Federation, Players and more are expected to attend.
Brief Profile:
Asanka Gurusinha (born 16th September 1966) is a former Sri Lankan Cricketer who had an 11-year international career, playing 41 Tests and 147 One Day Internationals. A specialist left handed batsman and a key member for the 1996 Cricket World Cup winning team for Sri Lanka, scoring 65 runs in the finals against Australia. He is a Level 3 certified coach, and was appointed as the Cricket Manager for the Sri Lanka national team in 2017. He has also served in the capacity as the Consultant Regional Coach for Cricket Australia.
