Chaminda Vaas expected to take over as Sri Lanka bowling coach following Ramnayake’s stepping down
Jul 21, 2017 at 6:11 PM
Sri Lanka’s bowling coach Chamapaka Ramanayake has stepped down from his post on Friday morning ahead of the much awaited India-Sri Lanka series. Former pace bowling star Chaminda Vaas who has the best bowling figures in the history of ODI cricket has been requested by the Sri Lanka Cricket Board (SLC) to mentor the senior Sri Lankan side for the upcoming series.
As per reports from Cricbuzz, Ramanayake confirmed about his stepping down from the position of the bowling coach. He conceded that he has quite a few offers coming up and he will decide the suitable option after taking a break albeit a brief one. He is expected to join the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) as a high-performance consultant to help and nurture the young fast bowlers who is still not a part of the national set-up.
He is a respected figure on the coaching circuit and is credited with finding the lethal Lasith Malinga who has ruled world cricket for a long time. His toe crushing Yorkers has been sensational over the years and we must thank this man first for identifying him. He had worked with BCB earlier too and has been with the Sri Lankan team since 2015. SLC hired former South African fast bowling great Alan Donald as the bowling consultant for the Champions Trophy leaving Ramanayake for that specific tournament.
Vaas who is the most successful Sri Lankan fast bowler had previously worked with the national team from May 2013 to April 2015. Since then he has been involved with the New Zealand and the Ireland team as bowling consultants on a part time basis.
Vaas returned to Sri Lanka last year and was given the charge of the Development Squad. Vaas was present with the Sri Lankan Board President’s XI squad during their practise game against India at the CCC ground when he was called up to the SLC headquarters where he was asked to take up the job for the tough battle against the No.1 Test side in the world, India in all 3 formats of the game.
It hasn’t been a great few months for Sri Lanka Cricket. Head coach Graham Ford resigned from his post and following Sri Lanka’s humiliating 3-2 series defeat at the hands of minnows Zimbabwe, captain Angelo Mathews too quit his job. The Islanders will be gearing up for the big challenge and will look to challenge a much-fancier Indian side.