Sri Lanka captain Dasun Shanaka on Wednesday said that the relentless criticism aimed at his players has been damaging to their mental health and undermined their efforts at the T20 World Cup, where they were eliminated from the group stage by New Zealand.
The tournament cohosts drew heavy flak from fans and pundits for their shaky buildup to the World Cup, which included losing five of six limited-overs matches against England.
The 2014 champions on Wednesday suffered a second successive defeat in Group 2 of the Super Eights, with New Zealand scoring a comprehensive victory to knock them out of the tournament.
Photo: AFP
Shanaka apologized to fans after their “embarrassing” performance, but also said that an atmosphere of negativity had reached an extent where the authorities must intervene.
“No matter how we as cricketers try to stay positive, there is negativity outside,” Shanaka told reporters after their defeat in Colombo. “We will play and leave, but for the players who will come in the future, if the government can even stop it, that’s better for their mental health.”
Chasing 169 for victory, Sri Lanka were 46-5 in the 11th over and never looked like recovering.
Photo: AFP
“Honestly, we are very sorry for what happened. No one goes out there to fail, everyone goes with the intention of playing well and winning for the team,” he said.
Losing the services of three key bowlers — Wanindu Hasaranga, Matheesha Pathirana and Ehsan Malinga — through injuries was a major setback.
“You’ve also got to make fitness a non-negotiable,” he said. “When you have the number of injuries we’ve had, it’s hard to get a good outcome. 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.”
Photo: AP
Former captain Kumar Sangakkara said that Sri Lanka were in danger of becoming irrelevant in the cricket world.
“There is a lot of work to be done at all levels to course correct,” Sangakkara wrote on X. “We can’t do the same things over and over and expect different results when the cricket world around us has evolved so quickly. We haven’t adapted and the danger is irrelevance.”
New Zealand won by 61 runs to boost their semi-final hopes.
Sri Lanka needed an emphatic win to stay alive, but instead exited with a whimper, limping to 107-8 chasing New Zealand’s 168-7.
A win for New Zealand against England tomorrow at the same R. Premadasa Stadium would see them top the Super Eights group and qualify for the semi-finals along with Harry Brook’s side.
A defeat would open the door for Pakistan, who would probably need a big win against Sri Lanka in Kandy on Saturday to sneak through on net run rate.
Sri Lanka were never in the chase as Matt Henry dismissed their leading batsman Pathum Nissanka with the first ball of the innings. Henry also removed Chairth Asalanka with the first ball of his second over to leave Sri Lanka in trouble at 6-2.
Part-time spinner Rachin Ravindra found turn to put the game beyond Sri Lanka with a career-best 4-27.
Earlier, New Zealand captain Mitchell Santner and Cole McConchie rescued their side after Sri Lanka reduced them to 84-6.
An 84-run stand off just 47 deliveries for the seventh wicket between the two enabled them to set a tricky target on a turning pitch.
Santner top scored with 47 off 26 balls. McConchie, recalled to the side, posted an unbeaten 31 off 23 balls.
In Group 1 yesterday, South Africa trounced the West Indies, while India were to play Zimbabwe after press time last night.
The Windies posted 176-8 from their 20 overs, despite being reduced to 83-7 after 10.2 overs.
However, South Africa opener and captain Aiden Markram blasted 82 not out to lead his side to a nine-wicket win.
Additional reporting by staff writer and AFP
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