Chaminda Vaas joins Sri Lanka cricket team as the pace bowling coach

Earlier today, Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) announced that they have drafted former pacer Chaminda Vaas into the national side to act as the fast bowling coach for the upcoming series against India. Vaas, who served the national side for over a decade, has been helming the national programme and working with the feeder squad for some time.

He is now set to join the senior team as a specialist fast bowling coach after former bowling coach Champaka Ramanayake stepped down. Previously, Vaas enjoyed a stint with the senior side from May 2013 to April 2015. Since then, he has worked with national teams of Ireland and New Zealand.

Vaas, with his vast experience, will certainly bring a lot to the table

The state of Sri Lankan cricket could not be any worse than now. The team is going through a transition period but they haven’t been able to replace any of their former stars yet. The retirements of Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene, Muttiah Muralitharan among others has left huge gaping holes in the Lankan side.

Recently, the Lankan team suffered a humiliating ODI series loss to minnows Zimbabwe. Following the disappointing result, captain Angelo Matthews stepped down. Promptly, SLC announced Dinesh Chandimal as the Test captain while Upul Tharanga was named as the ODI captain.

The series against India will be a big test for the Lankan side. And Vaas’ involvement will certainly help them improve. After all, the World Cup winner comes with a vast experience at the top-most level on his back.

Vaas and Muralitharan formed a dangerous combination through the mid-90s and 2000s and turned Sri Lanka into a tough touring country. He featured in 111 Test and 322 ODI matches picking up 355 wickets and 400 wickets respectively.