Sri Lanka's captain, Dasun Shanaka, issues an apology to the nation following their early exit from the T20 World Cup.
Key Points
- Sri Lanka captain Dasun Shanaka apologizes for the team's poor performance in the T20 World Cup.
- Shanaka said he was not too happy with the criticism that his players are facing after their ouster from the T20 World Cup.
- He also conceded that the fitness of Sri Lankan players was not up to the mark.
Fitness and form were not the only areas in which Sri Lanka failed, said captain Dasun Shanaka as he also blamed the "negative environment created outside" for his team's ouster from the T20 World Cup and urged the government to protect the players from criticism.
Co-hosts Sri Lanka lost to New Zealand by 61 runs in the Super 8s match to crash out of the T20 World Cup. In their first match in the Super 8s, they had suffered a 51-run defeat against England thus making their last game against Pakistan inconsequential.
However, Shanaka said he was not too happy with the criticism that his players are facing after their ouster from the T20 World Cup.
"As players, it's very hard for us to control the outside noise. So, most of the time, we mainly hear negative stuff, so no matter how positive we are as players, there is a negative environment created from the outside," he said after the loss to New Zealand here on Wednesday.
"So that's a disadvantage for cricket in Sri Lanka, we only have this game and I don't think this could be saved. So, why the negativity is being spread like this? Okay we lost a World Cup; we know the reasons. We all have concerns.
"So, I think, we will play and go, but at least for the players coming up next, if the government could interfere and stop those, I believe that will be a great help for the better mental health," he added in an unprecedented request.
Captain Shanaka Apologises After Sri Lanka's World Cup Exit
In his apology to the country Shanaka said his team just could not deliver in the Super Eights after a fairly good group campaign in which the co-hosts ousted Australia.
"We feel very sorry about this. England match was also a match that we could have won...if we were more sensible, we could have won that. This match was a one-sided game. For the spectators, I don't have anything to tell, we have not given them any win that they can be happy about," Shanaka said.
Elaborating on the reasons for the team's downward spiral after the group stage, he said the pitches in Sri Lanka didn't behave the way he expected.
"Before the start of the tournament, I also mentioned that I expected the wickets to be good. So 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 asserted.
"Unfortunately, we don't always get the conditions we want, sometimes we lose games from the things that we don't even think of, from the small changes. So, we are so sorry about that, as players we feel very sad about it," Shanaka said.
Injuries To Key Players Hurt Sri Lanka
Shanaka also conceded that the fitness of Sri Lankan players was not up to the mark and the list of injuries also kept getting longer as the tournament progressed. The team lost premier pacer Matheesha Pathirana to a hamstring injury early in the event before all-rounder Wanindu Hasaranga also went out due to a similar problem.
"I don't think the physical fitness is up to the maximum level. I think for this World Cup, by this match, we have about four to five injuries, our best players are out. So, we can clearly see that we have some issues about the physical fitness.
"I think when we consider the past few World Cups, Sri Lanka must be on the list with most injured players. Sometimes, I think the other teams are way ahead of us when considering fitness level," he said.
"I think the fitness should be number one when playing for a country because that's unnegotiable...everyone knows how good Wanindu Hasaranga and he is a key player, and also the importance of Matheesha Pathirana , and then Eshan Malinga. When we don't have these players, (but) I'm not saying that it's an excuse."
'I have no idea how long I will be the captain'
Shanaka is not certain about his captaincy tenure after another dismal outing but said Sri Lanka need to set long-term goals going into a mega-event.
"And if we are going to a World Cup plan, we should go to long term goals, it's hard for us to play a tournament like this with short term goals. As a captain, I have no idea how long I will be the captain, it's decided by the selectors, by Sri Lanka Cricket.
"But I'm happy that I had this opportunity for this long time. I had many good decisions, and also, I have made mistakes as well. Actually, I'm happy that I could play a World Cup as a captain," he said.
He also conceded that Sri Lanka lacked enough power-hitters in the team, which is a must for the shortest format.
"Actually, when considering power hitting, yes there is a lack of power hitting when we look at the entire Sri Lanka. But we have to play according to the conditions in Sri Lanka. So, we have to check up to what level that power hitting is needed for those conditions, because when we consider Pallekale sometimes we get good wickets. Power hitting is very helpful there.
"Power hitting should be there, but with these conditions, it's the responsibility of the team management, how to pick."
Sri Lanka will take on Pakistan in their last match in Pallekele on Saturday and Shanaka expects to finish the campaign on a positive note.
"No matter the problems that we have, we have to go very positively as a team. Because when we came to the World Cup also, we were coming after losing three games, but we started the World Cup well. So, I think it's very important to finish a World Cup as a team because it gives a momentum for the next tournament."
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