“The idea is to teach them how to believe in themselves and how to fox out the batsmen”

Image courtesy of: ESPNcricinfo

Legendary Pakistan left-arm seamer Wasim Akram has revealed that he has seen a lot of potential in Sri Lanka’s pace attack, but admitted that they need to work on their ability to swing the ball if they are to become more lethal.

Akram was roped in as a pace bowling consultant by Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) and spent several hours with the country’s pace bowlers in a coaching session he held at the Sinhalese Sports Club in Colombo on Thursday.

Sri Lanka have long relied on their spinners to do the trick since conditions are more suited to them on the island. However, Akram feels that the seamers can also make their presence felt if they put in the hard yards and boost their self-confidence.

“Most of the bowlers had a pace of 130 to 140 kmph (kilometres per hour),” Akram said. “The idea is to teach them how to believe in themselves and how to fox out the batsmen.”

SLC president Thilanga Sumathipala confirmed that Akram will be Sri Lanka’s consultant for the next two years and will visit the country at least twice a year to work with local players.

“We have invited him to be with us in the next two years as our consultant in pace bowling,” Sumathipala said.