Cricket

The Nepal national cricket team's head coach, Manoj Prabhakar, has left Kathmandu amid growing pressure from the Cricket Association of Nepal to quit.

While there is no official word yet, multiple sources have revealed to NepalMinute that the Indian coach left for Delhi on Monday, saying he would email his resignation from there. 

The 59-year-old former India all-rounder was appointed the national team's head coach on August 8 after his predecessor Pubudu Dasanayake quit the job on July 21 to take the reins of the Canadian national side.

Nepal made a promising start under Prabhakar, winning the T20 series 3-2 and clean-swept the three-match ODI series away to Kenya in late August.

However, CAN officials grew apprehensive of the Indian coach's working style, creating a rift in the team.  

He has come under fire for chopping and changing the batting order and bowling attack. 

It did not impact much during a home series in November, as Nepal won three-match ODI series against the UAE 2-1 in Kathmandu. 

However, Nepal performed miserably on the Namibia tour for the World Cup League 2 from December 1-8. They lost three of the four matches in the triangular series also involving Scotland. The other match – the opener against Namibia – was abandoned due to rain. 

It was the first time that Nepal have failed to win a single match in six League 2 series.

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While CAN General Secretary Prashant Bikram Malla did not respond to NepalMinute's calls, multiple sources said that the top cricket officials had been unimpressed with Prabhakar's handling of the team.

Several players voiced concerns over Prabhakar's lack of direction and unfair treatment of players, resulting in a drop in team performance.

"The disappointing Namibia tour proved the proverbial final straw," a source said, adding that he had been under pressure from the association to step down as Nepal coach even before the team's departure from Namibia. 

The CAN officials decided to wait after he insisted on discussing the matter in Kathmandu. However, his tepid response over the team's performance in Namibia during the debriefing on Sunday did not help his cause either.   

The meeting ended swiftly, with the CAN officials indicating to the beleaguered coach that his position was untenable, the source said. "The CAN board has offered the coach a graceful exit."