Sri Lanka became the first team to be out of semifinal contention after their 61-run defeat to New Zealand in Colombo on Wednesday. Captain Dasun Shanaka says negativity around his team, bowler-friendly pitches and fitness issues with key players led to the exit of Sri Lanka from the T20 World Cup 2026.
In the lead-up to the T20 World Cup, Sri Lanka faced criticism because of their poor show in limited-overs cricket since the middle of last year.
“A lot of times what we see and hear are negative things,” Shanaka was quoted as saying.
“No matter how we as cricketers try to stay positive, there is negativity outside. That’s a big loss for for Sri Lankan cricket. This is the only sport we have, and I don’t know if we’ll be able to protect it. If you look outside the stadium you’ll see how many people are standing outside with mics, and people will say stuff without having watched the match.”
Criticism is likely to mount up after Sri Lanka lost to Zimbabwe, England and New Zealand in successive matches to crash out of the T20 World Cup. Shanaka was concerned about the “negativity” surrounding the team and urged the government to intervene to protect the future generation of players.
“Why spread this negativity? Yes, we lost a World Cup, and we know the reasons. Everyone has concerns. More than talking about that and correcting it, the negativity has come to the fore. We will play and leave, but if for the players who will come in the future, if the government can even stop it (the negativity) that’s better for their mental health.”
Shanaka had concerns about the spin-friendly tracks in Sri Lanka even before the tournament started. But what they got were spin-friendly pitches and Shanaka admitted that he and the team management failed to read the Colombo pitch on Wednesday. He didn’t expect the track to offer so much turn.
“I said before the start of the tournament that I expected the wickets to be good for batting. Sri Lanka’s best batters are here. We’ve picked players who have good domestic strike-rates and ability. No one is here by force.
“Sometimes we don’t get conditions we want, and we lose matches in unexpected ways. We’re very sad about what has happened.”
Sri Lanka were also unfortunate to miss out on key bowlers during the course of the tournament, and one just before the start of the World Cup. Legspinner Wanindu Hasaranga was ruled out after straining his hamstring in Sri Lanka’s first match, then in the match against Australia, Matheesha Pathirana got injured. Seamer Eshan Malinga had been ruled out before the start of the tournament.
“You’ve also got to make fitness a non-negotiable,” Shanaka said. “When you have the number of injuries we’ve had, it’s hard to get a good outcome. Wanindu Hasaranga is such a key player for us. We also know how important Matheesha Pathirana is. Eshan Malinga was injured as well. Your fitness level influences your injuries. There are some players who can’t even get into the team because of fitness issues. That’s something we’ve talked about a lot over several World Cups now.”
Shanaka also apologised to the Sri Lankan fans who had flocked the stadiums in huge numbers, be it in Colombo or Kandy.
“The team is always trying to perform, especially in a World Cup, and I don’t think anyone here will be able to play in a World Cup in Sri Lanka again,” Shanaka said.
“Everyone had the desire to get into a semifinal. We all had that desire. But we didn’t do justice to the expectations. We couldn’t give fans what we wanted. For that we’re sorry.”
