Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) on Friday appointed former pacer Chaminda Vass as the national team’s fast bowling coach for the upcoming tour of West Indies.
His appointment comes following the resignation of David Sekar, who was the national fast bowling coach, SLC said in a statement. Vass currently serves as ‘Fast Bowling Coach’ at the High-Performance Center of the SLC, working with Emerging and National Team Players, it added.
During his illustrious career for Sri Lanka, Vass took 355 Test wickets from 111 matches and 400 ODI wickets from 322 games.
On Tuesday, SLC confirmed that the team will tour West Indies to play the all-format series, starting on March 3.
“Sri Lanka Cricket wishes to announce the appointment of Chaminda Vass as the National Team’s Fast Bowling Coach for the Tour of West Indies. His appointment comes following the resignation of David Sekar, who was the National Fast Bowling Coach,” the board said in a media release.
The Sri Lankan team will leave for the Caribbean on February 23. During the tour, Sri Lanka will play three T20Is, three ODIs, and two Test matches, under a bio-secure environment in Antigua from March 3 to April 2.
Vaas has previously coached the Sri Lankan team on three occasions, in 2013, 2015, and temporarily in 2017.
Vaas, Sri Lanka’s most successful fast bowler with 355 Test wickets 400 ODI wickets, has been part of SLC’s development program and holds the post of fast bowling coach at their high-performance centre, where he works with emerging and national team players. He has also previously held coaching roles with Ireland and New Zealand.
Sri Lanka’s West Indies tour begins in under two weeks, with a three-match T20I series starting on March 4, followed by three ODIs and two Tests.
The three T20I matches will be played on March 3, 5 and 7 at the Coolidge Cricket Ground, Antigua, while the ODI series will be played at the Sir Vivian Richards Cricket Stadium, Antigua on March 10, 12, and 14.
The first Test match will start on March 21, and the second Test will commence on March 29