Sri Lanka may be a breeding ground for spinners, but a silent fast-bowling revolution is taking place on the island - rather stealthily, without being largely unnoticed. Every day, around 40-50 pace bowlers, drawn from different parts of Sri Lanka, train at the Khettarama Stadium in Colombo under coach AD Anusha Samaranayake, who has worked with fast bowlers ranging from Lasith Malinga of the previous decade to Matheesha Pathirana of the current era. Sling, swing, pace, bounce, yorkers - the full fast-bowling menu is on display.

"Anusha is the father of Sri Lanka's fast bowling," says Zubin Bharucha, a coach of repute in India who has worked - and continues to work - with players ranging from Yashasvi Jaiswal to Vaibhav Sooryavanshi. "Few can match his knowledge of biometrics, physics, technique and the neuroscience of fast bowling. He has even worked with spinners."

Crishan Kalugamage instantly endorses Bharucha's views. "I have worked with Anusha sir for many years in Italy. I speak to him every day, and certainly before a match. He has a big impact on my bowling," says the 34-year-old spinner from Italy. Kalugamage called Anusha after Italy's demolition of Nepal in a Group C league fixture of the World Cup on Thursday. Kalugamage emerged player of the match at the Wankhede with figures of three for 18, and he told this website after the match on Thursday night that even before the Nepal game, he had a conversation with Anusha.

Anusha, himself a fast bowler in his playing days and played first class cricket, has worked with almost all Sri Lanka fast bowlers of recent times, beginning from the start of the century at the academy run by Sri Lanka Cricket. From Nuwan Zoysa and Farveez Maharoof of the past to Dushmantha Chameera, Eshan Malinga, Pramod Madushan, Dilshan Madushanka and Nuwan Thushara of the present day, his influence has been wide-ranging.

Along the way, the two famous slingers - Lasith Malinga and Matheesha Pathirana - also came under his wings at the academy. A fact of the matter, Malinga was brought to notice by current Sri Lanka coach Sanath Jayasuriya. And Pathirana had a stint with him and he was advised not to move his face along with his hand before bowling. He has been doing well since. Against Oman in the World Cup on Thursday, Pathirana bowled three overs for 11 runs and the word is back to his past best.

The academy was initially started by Anusha along with Rumesh Ratnayake and Champaka Ramanayake. Rumesh and Champaka later left in search of greener pastures, while Anusha continued with his national duties. He is currently Sri Lanka's national fast-bowling coach. Incidentally, Anusha has also worked with India pacer Prasidh Krishna and Rahul Dravid's son, Samit in recent times, having made a trip to Bengaluru.

"I am really surprised by the fast-bowling talent in Sri Lanka," Bharat Arun, a former India bowling coach, told this website. Arun recently worked with Sri Lanka Cricket and during his two-week stint there in mid-2025, he observed around 70-80 fast bowlers with the potential to break into the national team. "The problem in Sri Lanka is that they tend to address the symptoms rather than the root cause. If they get the system right, there will be many pacers like Malinga and Pathirana," added Arun.

Anusha (63), of course, is a perfectionist, as Bharucha says. He seems to have an answer to everything about Sri Lanka's fast bowling - why there are many slingers on the island rather than conventional pacers, why unorthodoxy often outweighs orthodoxy among their quicks, why spin has traditionally taken primacy over pace, and the recent emergence of fast bowlers.

The last question first. It is said that most Sri Lankan pacers come from the coastal areas of the island and are inherently strong, having grown up swimming and running on the beaches - habits that help produce fast bowlers.

Now, coming to the first point - unorthodoxy - it is mainly because there are not many labs, high-performance centers, or research initiatives in the country. The coaches tend to encourage natural, raw talent rather than suppress non-conformity, unlike in other countries who have more organised systems. The reason why slingers emerge from Sri Lanka is that cricket is largely played with tennis balls and sub-innings balls, where sling and sidearm bowling is often more effective than a conventional high-arm action.

Besides, a slinging delivery, bowled from a lower release point, is less likely to meet the sweet spot of the bat than a high-arm delivery. Finally, spin is preferred more in Sri Lanka because the surfaces here deteriorate by about 15 per cent, helping turners more than in SENA countries, where pitches deteriorate by roughly seven per cent, favoring pacers.

Anusha is known for explaining the dynamics of Sri Lanka's bowling landscape but he does not speak about his own contributions to Sri Lankan cricket. He often talks about three types of fast bowlers. The first group consists of those who bowl around 145 kmph, like Brett Lee and Shoaib Akhtar. The second group bowls between 125-135 kmph, such as Sri Lanka's Vaas and India's Irfan Pathan. The third group includes bowlers who bowl between 135-145 kmph, like James Anderson, and even Wasim Akram.

The first type can unsettle batters with sheer pace but lacks the ability to swing or seam with control. The third type can swing and seam effectively but may not consistently unsettle batters, while the middle type combines both skills - able to bowl with pace, swing, seam, and control.

India's very own Jasprit Bumrah should belong to this middle category, which could explain his phenomenal success. However, Anusha is contractually bound not to and would not speak about Bumrah or other pacers of current or past generations unless he has permission from his employer, SLC.