Ishant is a real threat, feels Vaas

India’s latest pace sensation Ishant Sharma seems to have won over a yet another admirer. The latest addition to his ever-growing fan-list is none another than Sri Lankan new ball spearhead Chaminda Vaas. Vaas even considers Ishant ‘a real threat’ for his batsmen in the forthcoming Test series starting from July 23.

"I am really impressed with Ishant’s progress in international cricket. He is the bowler to watch out for. He is tall and has a top-arm action, which makes it difficult for the batsmen to judge length perfectly. He is also very fast," Vaas said.

As far as the Lankan bowling attack was concerned, Vaas insisted that Muttiah Muralitharan, world’s highest Test wicket-taker, would be the main threat to the visiting Indians, Ajantha Mendis’s presence notwithstanding. "Don’t discount Murali. He is the main threat to the Indians, despite Mendis making rapid progress during the Asia Cup” he said.


The tussle between their spinners and Indian renowned batting line-up would be the one to watch-out for.
“Mendis will be playing Test cricket for the first time and that too against quality batsmen like Virender Sehwag, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly and V V S Laxman, who are excellent against spin bowlers. It will be a great contest to watch," Vaas said.


On his own bowling, 35-year-old Vaas admitted, that he never had great pace and was more of a swing bowler. "I don’t know why people refer to my pace all the time. In fact I never had express pace. When I started off, I used to bowl at 137 kph to 140 kph. Right now, I am bowling at 130 kph. It’s more important to swing the ball and pitch it in the right areas," he observed.