Gurusinha resigns as Nigeria cricket coach on health grounds

World Cup winning coach, Asanka Gurusinha, has resigned from his position as Head Coach and High Performance Manager of the Nigeria Cricket Federation (NCF) due to ill-health. While accepting his resignation letter dated March 31, the General Secretary of the federation, Taiwo Oriss, in a statement issued yesterday, commended the coach for transforming the game […]

World Cup winning coach, Asanka Gurusinha, has resigned from his position as Head Coach and High Performance Manager of the Nigeria Cricket Federation (NCF) due to ill-health.

While accepting his resignation letter dated March 31, the General Secretary of the federation, Taiwo Oriss, in a statement issued yesterday, commended the coach for transforming the game of cricket in Nigeria.

“Asanka’s resignation is in connection with health complications which will make it difficult for him to effectively conduct his role.

“He was employed in the role on December 1, 2020 and within the short period, he made significant impact in the game in Nigeria notably bringing in more discipline to players’ approach to the game and establishing a coaching development template that has been rolled out for Nigerian coaches,” said NCF.

The federation, however, said based on the terms of his contract with the NCF, his resignation will become effective on June 30.

The statement further explained that the coach will spend the next couple of months working with the federation on a smooth transition and agreeing a plan with his coaching team on the NCF’s upcoming activities.

The NCF board, therefore, thanked Asanka for his immense contributions he has made to the development of the game in Nigeria whilst wishing him the best with the surgery he is to undertake and the subsequent recovery.

It will be recalled that the famous cricket coach masterminded Sri Lanka’s triumph at the 1996 Cricket World Cup jointly hosted by Pakistan, India and Sri Lanka.