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Ramanayake hopes to widen Bangladesh's fast-bowling net

In his second coaching stint in Bangladesh, Champaka Ramanayake hopes to hand pick talent from different corners of the country

Mohammad Isam
Mohammad Isam
17-Aug-2017
Champaka Ramanayake is looking forward to working with Courtney Walsh  •  AFP

Champaka Ramanayake is looking forward to working with Courtney Walsh  •  AFP

Champaka Ramanayake, former Sri Lanka fast bowler and the new head coach of BCB's High Performance Unit, hopes to widen the search for fast bowlers across Bangladesh in his second coaching stint in the country. He previously worked as the bowling coach of the national team from 2008 to 2010.
"The coaching will be the same but maybe I will look into the youngsters who have never been seen before," Ramanayake said. "I am thinking of going around the country to find raw talent. Definitely there is talent, because cricket is big in the country. There should be lot of players with natural talent, so I am looking forward to finding them."
Ramanayake, the second high-profile appointment after Courtney Walsh, the bowling coach of the national team, underlined the importance of having a comfort factor in working with young bowlers to be successful at the job.
"I have worked for SLC for 14 years as a bowling coach. Early on I was working on the development side; working day to day with the youngsters helped me build a relationship and their confidence level," he said. "The biggest thing you can give them is confidence, that they can do the job. The biggest satisfaction you can get as a coach is when you develop someone."
In his first stint in Bangladesh, Ramanayake focused on working with natural actions, Rubel Hossain and Shafiul Islam being the most-notable names to come up around the time. "You shouldn't make too many changes to natural ability. That's my philosophy," he said. "In Sri Lanka, we produced lot of freaks from nowhere because of their natural talent.
"Sometimes, people try to change too many things and then you lose the natural ability. Everyone is different in this world, so you have to treat them differently. Actions are different so as long as they produce results and are effective, that's the main thing."

Mohammad Isam is ESPNcricinfo's Bangladesh correspondent. @isam84