Nepal national cricket coach Pubudu Dassanayake announced shock resignation on Wednesday citing 'personal reasons'. But in fact, he quit to take over the coaching role at Cricket Canada.

"I have to take this decision due to some personal and family reasons," said the Sri Lanka-born Canadian speaking at a press conference in Kathmandu. "I have to regret for the upcoming four or five years if I don't do this now."

But barely a couple of hours after his bombshell announcement, he was introduced as head coach by Cricket Canada. "Pubudu Dassanayake appointed as our new head coach," reads a Tweet by Cricket Canada.

When asked if he was set to take over some other national team, Pubudu did not give any such clue. Instead, he said, "I have also told the Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN) that I would stay in Canada for at least one or two years. I will not have time to go out of Canada. I want to clarify I am leaving solely due to my personal reason. I am not going to talk about these things in detail."

"I am very sad and it is one of the toughest decisions… that I have to leave the team midway," added Dassanayake, who was reappointed as Nepal coach for the second time on a two-year tenure in December last year. "We will have one of the best teams [in associate cricket] in the next 10-12 months. But unfortunately, I will not be there."

Dassanayake went on, "I apologise that I could not finish the job, but I am happy inside that Nepal is moving forward in the right direction. We did a lot of work and united everybody in the team. They put trust in me, but I am leaving in the middle of the work."

According to CAN cricket manager Binod Das, Dassanayake had furnished his resignation via email before Nepal's Scotland tour earlier this month.

Dassanayake, who quit after his five-year stint with Nepal in 2015, was one of the most successful coaches during his first spell. He was instrumental in guiding Nepal to their first ever global stage at the World T20 in 2014.

Dassanayake, however, failed to repeat a similar success in his second tenure cut short by himself. In his second spell, Nepal failed to click at the crucial juncture. They lost the semi-final match of the T20 World Cup Qualifiers 'A' against UAE in February, where a victory would have guaranteed them a place for the global showpiece later this year.

Among 12 ICC World Cup League 2 matches played under his mentorship, Nepal collected nine points out of 24 on offer. His side won four, tied one and lost seven matches.

The 52-year-old, who had succeeded Sri Lankan World Cup winning coach Dav Whatmore, also said that he had made some important changes in the team after his appointment. "We have a young team and they are not well settled. But we lack experience to handle certain situations. Our bowling and batting are moving forward in the right direction," said Dassanayake, who dropped former captain Gyanendra Malla from the squad.

He also ruled out that there was division in the team. "There was division in the team when I took it over six months ago but there is no problem now," he said. "The whole team was behind me and I was behind the whole team. Sandeep (Lamichhane) has grown as a captain."

Das, CAN cricket manager, was full of praise for Dassanayake. "The amount of dedication he put towards the team is what I have learned from him," Das said. "The result this time [second stint] does not speak of the actual volume of his contributions to the team."