5 Sri Lankans who had forgettable debuts but went on to have remarkable Test careers

#2 Chaminda Vaas

Vaas went wicketless in his first Test match

Performance on debut: 0 for 80 against Pakistan, 1994

One of the greats of the game, Vaas, had a disappointing debut as he bowled 22 overs without a wicket. But he showed glimpses of his talent in the very next match where he picked up 4 for 74 in 37 overs.

The Lankan workhorse was a nightmare for batsmen on seamer friendly wickets. He had the perfect in-swinger and was particularly good against right-handers. Operating around the 130kmph mark, the medium pacer was one of the best new ball bowlers of the modern era.

Test career stats

MAT	WKTS	AVG	BEST
111	355	29.58	7/71

He took a hat-trick off the first three deliveries of the match against Bangladesh in the 2003 ICC Cricket World Cup. Notably, all the victims were right-handers. He also ended the tournament as the most successful bowler with 23 wickets.

He has impressive numbers even at home where the pitches are predominately spin friendly. Out of the 111 matches Vaas played in, 56 matches were at home and picked up 180 scalps. The medium pacer ended his career as the third highest wicket-taker for Sri Lanka with 355 wickets.