There’s no shortcut to success

“Make sure you practice hard and implement your ideas in the middle,” Wasim Akram had told me.

“He (Wasim Akram) said even if I bowled four or six overs, I should give my best,” says Chaminda Vaas.

In my long international career, I have had the opportunity of meeting so many cricketers. I remember when I initially started playing for Sri Lanka, I met my hero, Wasim Akram. He was already a superstar for Pakistan then and he gave me so many ideas and advice on how to improve my performance.

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At that time, his advice meant a lot to me. I remember asking him about reverse swing and how to pick up wickets. Being a youngster then, I also wanted to know how to prepare for big games.

Wasim always told me that I should keep practising.

Chaminda Vaas.

“Make sure you practice hard and implement them in the middle. No matter how many overs you bowl, you give your 100 percent,” Wasim had told me.

He said even if I bowled four or six overs, I should give my best. “If you want to play longer for your country, then don’t take shortcuts.”

Those are the things I learned from him and in my career, I have made it a point to implement his ideas. And after so many years, even I agree that there is no shortcut to success.

I also had the privilege of interacting with Waqar Younis, Sir Dennis Lillee, Sir Richard Hadlee and Sir Vivian Richards. You can learn so much from them. They are very humble people and no matter what you ask them, they make sure that they help you out. With their inputs, I managed to have a long international career. I am grateful!

As told to Shayan Acharya .