Sri Lankan legend Chaminda Vaas impressed with UAE's cricket talent

In his own words, Chaminda Vaas was not the most talented player when he began his journey as a school cricketer in Sri Lanka.

But he worked hard on his game and never stopped ‘asking questions and learning from the coaches’.

Eventually, Vaas ended up playing international cricket for 15 years, becoming the greatest fast bowler in Sri Lankan cricket history with 755 wickets (400 wickets from 322 ODIs at 27.53 and 355 wickets from 111 Tests at 29.58) on the world stage.

It’s that singlemindedness that Vaas wanted to instill in the youngsters while attending three-day High-Performance sessions at the Desert Cubs Sports Academy in the UAE last week.

The 48-year-old stalwart who has had stints with the Sri Lankan team as the bowling coach after retiring from the game in 2011, asked the youngsters not to worry about the results.

“I had a dream, which was to play the game. My dream was not about playing for the national team. It was about playing the game because it’s a game I loved so much. I just enjoyed being on the ground. So it’s important for you to enjoy the game, the result will follow,” Vaas told the Desert Cubs Sports Academy youngsters during the opening session at the Sharjah English School.

Vaas attended five sessions – three at the Sharjah English School and two at the Delhi Public School, Jebel Ali – with the Desert Cubs youngsters, telling the budding pacers the importance of having the perfect wrist position and the follow-through following the release of the ball.

“But the most important thing is commitment. Some players have all the talent. Then there are others who work hard on their game. When I started, I didn’t have talent. It was all about pure hard work in my case. I learned from coaches and I always asked them questions. That’s how I learned,” Vaas told the students.

“Some of you are very talented. With the right approach, I am sure many of you will play for the UAE national team. So keep working hard and you might even get a chance to play for your own respective countries, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.”

Presley Polonnowita, the head coach of Desert Cubs Sports Academy in Dubai and a former Sri Lankan under 19 teammate of Marvan Atapattu, Muttiah Muralitharan and Sanath Jayasuriya, said it was a wonderful opportunity for the youngsters to learn from the legendary Sri Lankan cricketer.

“Vaasy has done so much for world cricket, he was one of the best left-arm seam bowlers we have seen. During his time, there was Wasim Akram and Chaminda Vaas, they were the two best left-arm pace bowlers. So it’s an honour to have him at our academy,” Polonnowita said.

“He passed on his knowledge and improved the game of our young cricketers. Someone like him can add value and make sure that our youngsters have the confidence to go forward.”