Dallas, June 1 (IANS): The 2024 men’s T20 World Cup will kick off with a North American derby between co-hosts USA and Canada at the Grand Prairie Stadium in Dallas. Co-incidentally, the two teams played the first ever international cricket match, way back in 1844, and will mark their debut in the showpiece event in a clash against each other.

Qualifying for their maiden Men’s T20 World Cup via winning the Regional Qualifier, Canada will be keen to put up a formidable show in the tournament. Head coach Pubudu Dassanayake, who helped Canada qualify for the 2011 ODI World Cup, as well as coached Nepal and the USA, speaks exclusively to IANS on the side’s maiden appearance in a T20 World Cup, players to keep a watch out for, and prospect of playing against India and Pakistan.

Q. What is the feeling in the team camp currently ahead of Canada making its first T20 World Cup appearance?

A. It's a great time for Canada. I mean, we had a long journey - like last two years, getting ODI status again and getting into the first time ever in a T20 World Cup. So, it's a historical moment for Canada; not just for the team, but also for every cricket fan in the country.

Regarding team environment, everybody in the entire set-up is so excited to be here. Every player is playing a T20 World Cup for the first time. They haven't been into caliber of tournaments like this before. So, they're so excited and working hard. We want to win few games and we are capable of doing it.

Q. How has been the team’s preparation – there was a 4-0 loss to USA, but recently beat Nepal in the warm-up game?

A. In the USA series, we were caught up in a muddle - we just came out from a 50-over series in Dubai that time, and won all four games of World Cricket League too, including beating Scotland and UAE. So, there was a lot of focus towards the 50-over format.

We are still not that team where you can just like right away change into the T20 version. So, we suffered a bit there, but now I think we had some training camps and we were in St. Kitts for two weeks. So, little things that we need to turn around from 50-over to T20, we have done it and we look good to be now ready for the World Cup.

Q. Are all players fit and raring to go, considering reports came of injuries and cramps from the warm-up game against Nepal?

A. The main thing which happened was that day, it was humid. We had never been into that humid situation before. So, there were no real injuries except for one. Pargat Singh and Ravinderpal Singh got cramps, while Rayyan Pathan player got like a bit of a hamstring pull while batting, which was also due to the heat we had on that day.

He's also recovered and is 80% good now and hopefully he'll be good to go for the opening game. The rest of the guys are all back to normal. Our medical staff has done a tremendous job to bring everybody back.

Q. You have coached Nepal twice, USA once and currently coaching Canada for the second time. How has life been for you as a coach in associate cricket nations?

A. It's a tough life. But I enjoy the things and I'm very happy that I put seeds in Nepal and USA. Those two teams are now, maybe I can say, that they are one of the best associate countries at the moment.

When I joined Nepal, they were in Division 5. When I joined USA, they were in Division 4. Now they are Division 1 nations and not just Division 1, they are very capable of doing well in this World Cup plus even in the World Cricket League too.

So, I'm happy as a coach, and I'm with Canada for two years now and we have brought them into a decent level, though there’s still a lot of work to do. But getting into the T20 World Cup, I think it's a real boost for the whole country.

Plus for me as a coach, I know what effects it has when you bring a team into a World Cup. There are so many opportunities we get when you are preparing for a World Cup. That opportunities will stay there for a long time, preparation-wise, improving players-wise. So, I'm happy as a coach.

I know that sometimes a coach's life is hard. You do your thing and then you have to walk out one day and somewhere you have to begin again from scratch. But I think I'm enjoying and I'm happy with whatever little contribution I can give to the game.

Q. What has been your coaching philosophy in all these years of being at the helm of associate sides?

A. The full-members always have everything - facilities, good pathways, proper tournaments and first-class tournaments. When you walk into an associate country, you don't get none of those. One of the things that I've been doing mainly is I'm bringing the stability for the players because there's no money.

They have to work everywhere they go and also have to work to earn their living. But then getting time for training and bringing that full commitment towards the game is a big challenge. So, that's what I have done normally - everywhere I go, I bring those playing groups into that.

I made them hungry to move forward and play good cricket. Then when you talk about the facilities and other areas, you need to be open to work with anything that is available. You will never get a proper turf, or a proper ground for training. So, those are big challenges and I think I have done well there.

Q. Nicholas Kirton has been a consistent performer for Canada, including hitting a fifty in the warm-game against Nepal. Can you tell more about him and how he got into the side?

A. Nicholas has grown up a lot from the last few years. Even before I came into Canada, I was watching him. He was born in Canada, but he was living in Barbados for a while and played first-class cricket for them too. He was technically correct, in the mould of a longer version better.

The amount of work that we have done on him in the last two years, I have seen him coming out of that. Right now, he's one of the most innovative players. He has options to play 360-degree boundaries, and is one of the fittest guys in the team. So, he is one of the players to watch from Canadian team.

Q. Could you talk about Canada’s batting depth, like some bowlers do hit handy cameos at the fag end of the innings?

A. We have everybody (in terms of batting deep). The bowlers (like Dillon Heyliger, Saad Bin Zafar, Ravinderpal Singh) can bat a bit, even Kaleem Sana can bat. So, we bat deep and middle order, it's very strong. At the top of the order, guys like Kirton, Aaron Johnson and Navneet Dhaliwal are there. So, it's a good batting line-up; our strength is batting and we are looking forward for it.

Q. What is one aspect of the game which you feel needs more attention ahead of the tournament?

A. Fielding is the one that we are working very hard on. Most of the time, when you have this six-month winter season, we have very less chance to go outdoor during that time. So, in indoors, we don't train that much for the fielding. We are up there in bowling and batting. If we take all our catches, we can trouble any team. So, these last couple of months, we have put a lot of effort on our fielding to improve.

Q. Canada will be playing against Pakistan and India in the World Cup. How much excitement is there in the camp currently about facing these two big teams?

A. In our group, there's so much excitement to play against Pakistan and India. The players are more excited because most of our team is from South Asia. It's a dream for them to play against those big teams. But those will be tough games and we have to compete at our best. The work that we have been putting in, we will be very competitive for any team.

Q. This time’s T20 World Cup is being played amongst 20 teams, nine of which are associate nations. How big it is for world cricket to have nine associate sides in this showpiece event?

A. It’s a great initiative by ICC, because I know the effect when an associate country gets into a World Cup. The amount of training that they do and the support that they get, the whole country's growth is affected by that. So, that's a great one to be in a World Cup, especially in countries of North America, going into the shorter version.

The 50-over format is not that popular still in North America, especially in the USA. So, T20 is growing because it's a shorter version and people want to be excited throughout the game. So, ICC expanding into 20 teams and nine (associate) teams getting into the World Cup, will definitely help cricket.

Having nine associate teams in this World Cup is an icing on the cake. When it comes to T20, don't underestimate the associates. You will have surprises and upsets in this World Cup, as T20 is anybody's game on a given day.

But at the same time, I want to mention wherever I work and even in Canada now, I'm pushing for them to have the longer version through their pathways, because that's the one format that will help players to develop their game.

Q. This World Cup has been billed as a way to crack the USA code. Do you feel this World Cup can propel growth of cricket in the USA?

A. USA is developing a lot in cricket. Like, there are many players now shifting to USA to live here and play cricket. It's a place where, not only Major League, and Minor League, there are so many weekend tournaments happening in T20 format.

I have seen lots of players moving in there - the past and current young players. It's an attractive place for any cricketer now, basically and the World Cup is going to light up that, as well as the whole of North America. I am sure all these things will help to grow cricket more in this part of the world.

Q. In your opinion, what more needs to be done for Canada to jump to the next level in cricket from an on-field perspective?

A. We need to fix our pathways. Like, we need to focus on our junior cricket, and domestic structure, when it comes to playing quality tournaments. Whether it's first class cricket, list A cricket or junior structure, we need to start building that. There's a lot of talent in Canada, considering there's so much of South Asians living there.

It not just only South Asians, but there are players from the Caribbean, and South Africa too in the system. So when I see these junior Under 19 cricketers in Canada, I feel that there is no difference between them and a full member nation youngster.

If I had to compare 16-17 year old here with anywhere in the world, the talent is there. It's just that they don't have the opportunity to play quality cricket, and to develop their game from there. For that to happen, we need to fix our pathways.