NewsJayasuriya 'in anguish about the fans' after Sri Lanka's poor T20 World Cup show
Sri Lanka’s T20 World Cup has ended with a thud. Three defeats in three Super-Eight matches – on top of that shock slip-up against Zimbabwe earlier in the competition – left the hosts rooted to the foot of their group and out of the semi-final race.
Head coach Sanath Jayasuriya fronted up straight after the five-run loss to Pakistan in Kandy on Saturday night, a contest kept alive only by captain Dasun Shanaka’s blistering 76 not out from 31 balls.
“I’m very sad as a coach that we’re not in the semi-finals,” Jayasuriya said. “Our 22 million people around the country really wanted us to be in that semi-final. 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.”
The two earlier Super-Eight games had been rather more one-sided. England rolled them for 122 in Pallekele and New Zealand skittled them for 105 in Colombo. Home supporters – who had packed out every venue – vented on social media and, in some cases, outside the team hotel.
“I’m in anguish about the fans, because I know how disappointed they must be,” Jayasuriya 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.”
Shanaka briefly added fuel after the New Zealand defeat, suggesting the crowd had created a “negative environment”. He retracted the remark two days later, yet the episode underlined how jittery the squad had become.
Injuries certainly played a part. Leg-spinning all-rounder Wanindu Hasaranga tore a hamstring in the opening match against Ireland and missed the rest of the tournament. Seamer Eshan Malinga dislocated a shoulder on the eve of the event, while sling-armed quick Matheesha Pathirana strained a calf during the narrow group-stage win over Australia.
“What went wrong was in the first match itself Wanindu Hasaranga got injured, and that was a big loss,” Jayasuriya explained. “He’s the best player in my team and an allrounder. Then Eshan Malinga got a shoulder dislocation. After that, just as Matheesha Pathirana was starting to bowl well, he got injured. I had those setbacks, but those aren’t excuses. The replacements have to perform.”
He went further: “It’s hard to find a replacement for a player like Wanindu Hasaranga. That player doesn’t exist right now. To replace a player like Matheesha Pathirana is also difficult. They players who came in weren’t quite there in the competitive moments. In the England match, we could have chased 140 in Pallekele. But we gave away wickets unnecessarily.”
Former all-rounder Farveez Maharoof, now a television analyst, has already urged selectors to review the leadership. “First thing Sri Lanka need to figure out is captaincy,” he said on air. He feels Shanaka is “better off when he doesn’t have to worry about the extra responsibility”.
Statistics add weight to that view. Since taking over the T20 side two years ago, Shanaka averages 18.4 with the bat outside power-play overs and has taken just three wickets. Yet his lone-hand against Pakistan also showed what he can do when the mood takes him.
So where next? A short white-ball tour of South Africa in April offers a chance to blood younger players, though the board is expected to stick by Jayasuriya until at least the Champions Trophy qualifiers. Domestic coaches whisper that wrist-spinner Nimesh Gunasinghe and left-arm quick Lakmal Perera deserve a go; neither made the standby list for this World Cup.
Jayasuriya, 56, sounded determined to front that rebuild. “We have talent – that’s not in doubt – but talent alone isn’t a plan. We’ll review calmly, no rash decisions.”
For now, supporters will need more than words. The summer began with justified optimism; it ends with a team searching for form, fitness and, above all, connection with its public.
