Following Sri Lanka’s early exit from the 2026 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, Sri Lanka captain Dasun Shanaka has appealed for government intervention to address the mental health challenges faced by his players.
The Islanders ended their campaign after a 61-run defeat against New Zealand, their second defeat at the Super Eight stage of the tournament.
Speaking after the match, Shanaka attributed the team’s struggles to the negative atmosphere surrounding Sri Lankan cricket.
“A lot of times what we see and hear are negative things,” Shanaka said.
“No matter how much we as cricketers try to be positive, there is negativity out there. It’s a big loss for Sri Lankan cricket,” he added.
Emphasizing that cricket is the country’s only sporting passion, the captain warned that outside criticism threatens its future.
“It’s the only game we have and I don’t know if we can defend it. If you look outside the stadium, you’ll see how many people are standing outside with microphones and people are saying things without watching the match,” he continued.
“Why spread this negativity? Yes, we lost a World Cup and we know the reasons. Everyone has concerns,” Shanaka lamented.
The 34-year-old urged the government to take action, suggesting that official measures to curb persistent negativity would benefit current players and future generations.
“Rather than talking about it and fixing it, the negativity has come to the fore, we will play and let it go, but for future players, if the government can stop it (the negativity) it will be good for their mental health.”
Shanaka also addressed the playing conditions, reiterating his pre-match hopes for batting pitches.
“I expected the wickets to be good for batting before the start of the match,” he said. “Sri Lanka’s best batsmen are here. We have picked players with good domestic strike rate and talent. Nobody is here by force.
“Sometimes we don’t get the conditions we want and we lose matches in unexpected ways. We’re very upset about what happened.”
“The team always tries to do well, especially in the World Cup, I don’t think anyone here can play in the World Cup in Sri Lanka again,” Shanaka concluded.