Sanath Jayasuriya has decided to step down as Sri Lanka’s head coach after the co-hosts failed to qualify to the semifinal of the T20 World Cup 2026.
In the Super Eight stage they lost all their matches. In the group phase, Sri Lanka beat Australia and Oman while lost to Zimbabwe.
“My contract ends in June but I will go before that, I will be talking to Sri Lanka Cricket to decide my stepping down,” Jayasuriya told reporters after Sri Lanka lost to Pakistan on Saturday.
“We should have done better, I am sorry and I apologise to fans,” Jayasuriya added.
The former Sri Lanka opener stated that the injuries to key players such as Wanindu Hasaranga, Matheesha Pathirana and Kusal Mendis during the tournament hampered their campaign.
“Their replacements could not perform to the levels required. Hasaranga was my best player you can’t easily find a replacement for him,” Jayasuriya said blaming both bowler and batter inconsistency for the poor show.
However, Sri Lanka put up a better show against Pakistan and lost by a narrow margin on Saturday, with captain Dasun Shanaka leading from the front with an unbeaten 76 off 31 balls. But their listless performance in the T20 World Cup 2026 hass drawn severe criticism from fans.
While speaking to the reporters in the press conference after the match, the star of Sri Lanka’s World Cup campaign in 1996, apologised to the fans.
“I’m very sad as a coach that we’re not in the semifinals,” Jayasuriya said. “Our 22 million people around the country really wanted us to be in that semifinal. We feel that sadness. We should say sorry and ask for forgiveness. It was in our hands and then we let it slip. I don’t know if these players will ever get the chance again to play a World Cup at home.”
Shanaka had earlier held the fans responsible for creating a “negative” environment around the team. Three days later he took back his remarks. However, Jayasuriya apologised to the Lankan fans and said “we have to understand the hurt they feel”.
“I’m in anguish about the fans, because I know how disappointed they must be,” he said. “From the first match, they gave the team as much support as they could. They must be angry at us, and they must be scolding us, including on social media. Even when we go on the street they must be scolding us. But this is the only sport we have in this country. We know that. When we don’t do well, we have to understand the hurt they feel. We have to stay humble and accept our mistakes.”
