Sri Lanka captain Dasun Shanaka believes that the negative environment created outside for his team was the main reason behind their T20 World Cup 2026 exit. Notably, Sri Lanka ended their campaign in the marquee event after losing two Super Eight clashes against New Zealand and England, respectively. Shanaka also urged the Sri Lankan government to protect the players from criticism.
Dasun Shanaka for negativity for Sri Lanka Cricket Team
The 34-year-old Shanka also apologised to his country for the disappointing campaign in the Super 8 stage of the showpiece event, where they suffered a 61-run loss to New Zealand following a 51-run defeat at the hands of England.
"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'll 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.
Shanaka's apology to Sri Lankan fans
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.
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"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.
Shanaka for Team's T20 World Cup 2026 exit
Shanaka believes that the team failed to perform in the Super Eight because the wickets 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.
How Sri Lanka qualified for Super 8
Sri Lanka, which was part of Group B alongside Ireland, Oman, Australia and Zimbabwe, won their three group stage matches against Ireland, Oman and Australia, respectively, to seal their Super 8 spot in the T20 World Cup 2026.