Vaas, Pathan on different journeys

They may be left-arm swing and seam bowlers, but Chaminda Vaas and Irfan Pathan are on different journeys as Sri Lanka8217;s first Test ser...

They may be left-arm swing and seam bowlers, but Chaminda Vaas and Irfan Pathan are on different journeys as Sri Lanka8217;s first Test series in India in eight years shapes up to be an intriguing test of skills.

Vaas is on his first serious tour since 1997. Pathan will be doing what he can to reimpose the one-day dominance. That 1-6 defeat was even more embarrassing considering that Sri Lanka8217;s only success came in the day-night game at Ahemedabad where a dew-soaked ball handicapped the Indian bowlers.

It is always easy to overlook such technical matters and ignore the facts. That is the way of day/night games. The South African tour was a fair example. Pathan picked up 10 wickets in the Videcon series and put serious runs together at No. 3 against a Lankan attack that was often out of sorts.

Vaas, vice-captain on this series, is all too aware of this weakness in the limited-overs campaign and admits that his role on this tour will be to help Marvan Atapattu to sort out the problems on field.

8216;8216;For me it is quite a challenge,8217;8217; said Vaas as the side trained and hoped clear skies would mean a rain-free Test. 8216;8216;I will be helping Marvan with field placings, making suggestions and generally playing a pro-active role.8217;8217;

His selection as vice-captain came as a surprise and seen in some circles as being politically motivated to end the Singhalese Sport Club dominance of the side, although there are those who suggest that unless you come from Bloomfield, the selectors are unlikely to take you seriously.

Deposed vice-captain Mahela Jayawardene is from SSC while one of the top-order batsmen, Avishka Gunawardene, is the current SSC captain. Not that this means too much, as he also captained Sri Lanka A in the recent series against New Zealand A that the Kiwis won. Vaas has captained his club, Colts, and is highly respected as a leader. He has an impressive record as a Test bowler. It was this which earned him the selectors8217; faith. Certainly, his performance is going to be examined on this tour.

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As a front line bowler, Vaas will need to take the heat and be far more consistent on this tour than during the slogs. It was a tough call to put a creditable effort together. Pathan collected 10 wickets in that series and gave the impression he knew what he was doing. Yet, as if he was stealing a line from England fast bowler James Anderson, Atapattu stood by his bowlers after the 1-6 slogs hiding. 8216;8216;You know, they all looked in top shape in the nets,8217;8217; he said. 8216;8216;And I know that it is different in the middle, but the conditions in the middle are also lot different to the nets.8217;8217;

This was after coach Tom Moody acknowledged that bowling in India was a lot harder for his bowlers than expected.