'I want to unearth raw talent'

Champaka Ramanayake arrived in Dhaka yesterday with a mission to spot raw talent from all around the country as he believes that the biggest satisfaction one can get as a coach is when he helps polish a rough diamond into the finished article. The former national pace bowling coach has come with a different assignment this time as he will mainly look after the emerging pacers but his role may extend to the national team and it is not unlikely that the Sri Lankan will accompany the team during their tour of South Africa in September-October.

Carrying a small satchel, Champaka entered the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium yesterday and got a warm reception from national team coaching staff, including compatriot Chandika Hathurusingha, Courtney Walsh and the players. Later he met with reporters to give all the details about his new contract.  

"It is High Performance fast bowling coach for the emerging players. My role is to develop them for the national team. The last time I started in the Academy for a few months and then I was upgraded to the national team. This time I am going to work with the youngsters, probably with the drop-off from the national or A team players," said Champaka when asked about his role, adding that he is here on a two-year contract.

"The coaching will be the same, but maybe I will look into the youngsters who have never been seen before. I am thinking of going around the country to unearth raw talent. Definitely there is talent, because cricket is big in the country. There should be a lot of players with natural talent," he added about his new approach.

He also said that Bangladesh are doing well as the seniors have persisted, along with good youngsters, since he left the country in 2010.

Champaka's coaching philosophy has not changed much as he still believed that: "You shouldn't make too many changes to natural ability. That's my philosophy. In Sri Lanka, we produced a 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."

The Sri Lankan was also looking forward to work with Walsh, whom he considers a genius.