Former Sri Lankan all-rounder Farveez Mahroop expressed deep disappointment following the team’s humiliating loss to the New Zealand national cricket team in Colombo on Wednesday, which resulted in their exit from the 2026 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup.
Speaking after the match, Maharup gave a scathing assessment of Sri Lanka’s performance, expressing deep disappointment at what he described as a series of careless dismissals.
He insisted that the team failed to learn from earlier mistakes in the tournament and lacked the necessary composure in high-pressure encounters.
“I’m going to put it very simply: it hurts, it hurts and it’s a shame,” said Mahroub, reflecting the mood of frustrated fans across the island. Earlier, Sri Lanka were bowled out on the back of another poor batting performance, having been bowled out for just 95 runs against England.
Analyzing the innings further, he pointed out that while the pitch conditions were not entirely straightforward, they did not justify the nature of the dismissal.
“It wasn’t a pitch, I understand that. But apart from Matt Henry’s batting and Nissanka’s delivery, every other over was soft. The batsmen only gave up their wickets – like the England game, all ten dismissals were soft.
Nissanga was Sri Lanka’s standout performer in the tournament, notably scoring an unbeaten 100 off 52 balls against the Australian national cricket team in the group stage.
However, against New Zealand, he fell to Henry’s superb delivery on the very first ball – a blow Maharup believes extinguished Sri Lanka’s hopes early.
“What Sri Lanka hopes for has disappeared,” he remarked.
Sri Lanka entered this match having lost the series 3-0 against England at home. Although they recorded wins against Oman, Ireland and Australia in the group stage, their campaign unraveled thereafter.
Consecutive losses to Zimbabwe, England and New Zealand – the latter two marked by weak batting performances – ended their run.
“It’s becoming a bad habit,” Mahroob added. “I’ve been doing this research for seven or eight years and I’ve been saying the same thing all the time. Every once in a while you make a good game and build up expectations, and then suddenly everything falls apart. It’s not the first time. I hope it comes to an end somewhere. Some tough decisions have to be made.”
He urged the selectors and team management to reassess the team before the next series.
“After the next game and before the start of the next series, the selectors and the think tank must seriously consider the future – assess the players’ abilities, decide who should stay and who should move on. I expect some tough decisions in the next two weeks. If not, I’ll be very surprised.”
For the uninitiated, Sri Lanka will conclude their T20 World Cup campaign with the final against Pakistan on February 28 at Ballegala.