The Sri Lankan Cricket (SLC) appointed former pace bowler Chaminda Vaas as the specialist fast bowling coach for the upcoming India tour which starts from July 26 in Galle. The 43-year-old swinger was one of the best pace bowlers Sri Lanka has ever produced and a lot is expected from him.
Vaas will supersede Champaka Ramanayake who stepped down citing ‘personal reasons’ after the series against Zimbabwe. He had a two-year stint with the team after he was reappointed in 2015. Ramanayake was first appointed by Bangladesh Cricket Board in March 2008, after being in-charge of Sri Lanka’s first bowling academy for seven years.
There is a rumor that BCB wants to bring him back under its wing as he is highly regarded among the current Bangladesh Pacers. He is credited for the rise Rubel Hossain and Saiful Islam. With Walsh being the head bowling coach, Ramanayake will be assigned to BCB’s high-performance unit.
SLC made the official announcement about Vaas’s recruitment on Friday, saying the former pace bowler “will guide the pace attack for the India tour of Sri Lanka.” Vaas was in charge of the national program with the junior squads since August last year. For Vaas, the role is temporary now, but he has done this job before for Sri Lanka between February 2013 and April 2015. He also shorter stints for New Zealand and Ireland as a coaching staff.
The mighty Sri Lankan represented his country in 111 test matches taking 355 wickets and 322 ODI’s claiming 400 wickets. Chaminda Vaas hanged his boots from international cricket in 2009.