Sri Lanka skipper Dasun Shanaka urged the government to resolve the negative environment surrounding the team. The request from the captain came after their exit from the T20 World Cup 2026, following their defeat to New Zealand on February 25 at the R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo. Dasun Shanaka expressed his frustration at seeing a lot of criticism pointed towards the team.
The Sri Lankan captain stated that as players, they always tried their best to stay positive within the dressing room. But whatever they tried to do to keep themselves motivated, constant criticisms and unnecessary noises affected the environment, which ultimately affected players' mentality and performance on the ground.
A Negative environment is often created from the outside: Dasun Shanaka, Sri Lanka Captain
"We mainly hear negative stuff. No matter how positive we are as players, a negative environment is often created from the outside. That’s a disadvantage for cricket in Sri Lanka", Dasun Shanaka said in the match after the press conference.
"We only have this game and I don’t think this could be saved. When you go outside after this, you will also see how many are out there holding mics to criticise. So why is the negativity being spread like this?” he has raised the question.
Negativity is barring the team from rectifications
Sri Lanka is the co-host of the ongoing T20 World Cup 2026, and they played with pure confidence in the group stage of the tournament. But dropped their momentum as soon as they dropped points against Zimbabwe in their last match of the group stage.
Later, in the Super 8, back-to-back defeats against England and New Zealand tore their World Cup dreams.
"Okay, we lost a World Cup; we know the reasons. We all have concerns. But negativity has come forward more than rectifying the issues", the captain Dasun Shanaka told the media.
Dasun Shanaka's appeal to the government
Winning and defeating are all part of the game. After sustaining a setback, the team wants to recover so that they can display a better performance in the upcoming days. Team performance is influenced by the surroundings and the environment. Shanaka appealed for authorities to step in to protect younger players from outside interference.
“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 better mental health", the captain of the team said.
Talking about yesterday's match, New Zealand went to bat first to score 168 runs in exchange for 7 wickets in 20 overs. For an in-form team, the tea total is chaseable. But Sri Lanka, which lost its momentum before its Super 8 campaign, could score only 107 runs in 20 overs against 8 wickets
. New Zealand won the contest by a 61-run margin. Part-time spinner Rachin Ravindra picked up 4 wickets to eliminate the home team from the match, and from the title race.
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