Published: Aug 17, 2015, 12:43 PM (IST)
Edited: Aug 17, 2015, 12:43 PM (IST)
Sri Lanka has been the land of unorthodox bowlers for some time now. From Muttiah Murlitharan to Ajantha Mendis to Lasith Malinga, all of them have been successful at the international level. The latest spinner coming from the same ranks is Tharindu Kaushal and it is by no means a surprise that he too comes from the guidance from Lasith Chaminda, a district level coach in Galle. He’s been taking care of unconventional bowlers since 15 years in Galle and must be credited for backing his bowlers all the time, instilling them with belief that they too despite their unorthodox bowling pattern can succeed at the highest level. Read:Sri Lanka’s persistence with Lasith Malinga against team’s welfare
Chaminda has fought with the officials many times for whenever there was a suggestion to tinker his bowling action, Chaminda would not heed to any request and take on the authorities. “I was once told by a top official in Sri Lankan cricket that Malinga is no international material. And a day after he made the suggestion, Lasith had a match-haul of 10 wickets against Nondescripts Cricket Club playing for Galle CC. Since then he hasn’t looked back,” Chaminda was quoted saying to Mumbai Mirror.
Since Maling had acquired this action after playing a lot of soft- ball cricket, he needed guidance on increasing his arm strength since they went sideways and were tilted to generate the bounce. Chaminda had a solution for that as well; swimming. “Because of his unusual technique, he would exert a lot of strain on his side muscles. He had to do daily weight training to strengthen his hips. Also thighs, back shoulder and calf muscles,” Chaminda said. Diet was central to his progress. His mother Swarna Malinga would indulge him with papaya, bread, fish and prawns. “He was a restless bundle of bones, always climbing trees or swimming. That’s how he grew stronger,” he said. Read: Sachin Tendulkar lauds Lasith Malinga
The first time Chaminda spotted Malinga was way back in 2001. Chaminda then, was the chief coach of Mahindra College, where Malinga had just joined. And his yorkers were accurate even that, the coach said. “Back then too he could spear in yorkers at will. He’d place a boot at york(er) length and just hit the mark,” he said. And he had the shorter ones going well for him as well, the coach recollected how even the umpires started fearing getting hit by Malinga as he bowled. “Even umpires moved to the right, fearing that they could receive swift blows on the ears if he bowled too close to the stumps,” he said.
Once in a domestic encounter, Malinga’s short ball barrage was too much for Upul Chandana. “Upul Chandana was so flustered that he admonished Malinga saying, ‘Hey little boy, you bloody f***er, learn to respect your seniors and stop those short balls once and for all’,” the coach recalled. It was the fear of getting hit that was evident and Malinga was very effective and accurate in his younger days as well.
But good days come with bad days surrounding as well and failure was bound to test him. In 2002, in a centenary match between Mahindra and Dharmaraja College in Dambulla, he went wicketless in both the innings and was mulling retirement as the opposition ensured he remembered the figures by mocking him. “He wanted to retire there and then. We had to cajole him into reconsidering his decision. Finally he relented after 30 minutes. The next day we had a match against Dharmasoka College. He returned with a booty of seven wickets. And believe it or not, that season he had 65 wickets in seven matches,” the coach said. Read: Mahela Jayawardene lavishes praise on Malinga for ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 performance
Talking about the future, Chaminda confessed that the troubled knee was likely to hamper Malinga from having a longer career even in the shorter formats of the game. There was also a sense of regret with the way Malinga was taken away from the streets of Rathgama to Wankhede, Mumbai to play for the Mumbai Indians in the Indian Premier League (IPL). He though is on his way training many other such bowlers and will be delighted with the way his fellow student, Tharindu Kaushal has started his international career.
