SLC accuses ‘Vaas of holding the game to ransom’
Colombo, Sri Lanka - Just days after being appointed as Sri Lanka's fast bowling coach, Chaminda Vaas has resigned from the post with immediate effect, with Sri Lankan Cricket (SLC) accusing the former fast bowler of holding 'the game at ransom'.
The move comes a day out from the national team's departure for their tour of the West Indies, and has left SLC scrambling for a replacement.
ESPNcricinfo understands that SLC will take a decision on Vaas' replacement as a matter of urgency, with the selection likely to be from one of the coaches currently working at the high performance centre.
According to an SLC media release, Vaas' resignation had come about as a result of a dispute over remuneration, with SLC administrators also believed to be unhappy with the timing of his demands. "In such circumstances, it is extremely disheartening that a legend such as Chaminda Vaas has resorted to holding the administration, the cricketers, and indeed the game at ransom, by handing in his resignation at the eleventh hour, citing the administration's refusal to accede to an unjustifiable demand for an increased USD remuneration, in spite of being a contracted employee of Sri Lanka Cricket."
Vaas has since tweeted that he had ‘made a humble request to SLC and they turned it down’.
Vaas' resignation is the latest in a string of disruptions ahead of the West Indies tour. Meanwhile a delay in processing his transit visa to the US has meant that Sri Lanka's new T20I captain Dasun Shanaka was unable to leave for the Caribbean with the remainder of the squad on Monday. Shanaka was named Sri Lanka's T20I captain on Monday.