Monty Desai steps down as Canada head coach amid turbulent period for Cricket Canada

Monty Desai has stepped down as head coach of the Canada men's cricket team after spending nearly four months in the role.

Desai, who took charge in May as interim head coach, oversaw two Cricket World Cup League 2 tri-series during his tenure — one in Canada and another in Scotland. Cricket Canada has now invited applications for the vacant position, with the deadline set for August 28.

In a social media post, Desai described his time with the team as a “short chapter, but a meaningful one”, thanking the players, support staff and Cricket Canada for the opportunity.

Canada currently sit sixth in the Cricket World Cup League 2 standings and have four matches remaining. Their next fixtures are scheduled in Oman from October 9, where they will face Oman and Nepal. The top four teams will progress to next year's ODI World Cup Qualifier.

This was Desai's second stint with the Canadian set-up, having previously worked with the team in 2019.

His departure comes at a difficult time for Canadian cricket. Canada lost all four of their matches at the T20 World Cup earlier this year, following which their match against New Zealand came under an ICC anti-corruption investigation.

Cricket Canada was subsequently hit by governance-related action from the ICC, which first suspended its funding before suspending the board's Associate membership. The ICC has since outlined conditions that Cricket Canada must meet to regain its membership.