- No influence to lose the match to India – Mendis
The Captain of the Sri Lanka Cricket team Kusla Mendis yesterday (12) publicly acknowledged that there were shortcomings in their game at the recent International Cricket Council (ICC) Cricket World Cup held in India, and apologised for their poor performance.
The statement comes following an unprecedented crisis in Sri Lanka’s national cricket performance and management.
Meanwhile, claiming that the Sri Lanka cricket team is heading in the right direction, the Consultant Coach of the Team Mahela Jayawardena however called on the country's cricket fans to be realistic about their expectations.
The Team which returned to the country after the disappointing showing at the ongoing 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup held in India, had organised a media briefing at the Sri Lanka Cricket headquarters yesterday.
When queried by the media regarding the lessons learned from the much-talked-about defeat, Jayawardena said that it was usual for the Cricket fans to have expectations that the team would perform well at a World Cup, but added that such expectations should be realistic. “The expectations of fans are understandable. They all know that the team will perform well when we go to a World Cup, but their expectations have to be realistic along with the plans. The people jumping, shouting, and screaming have to realise what modern day cricket is, and how we are going to compete going forward. The plans have been set, and we just need to be patient, and work harder on areas where we need to improve,” he said.
Speaking further, he said that the team’s performance in the past two years had reflected that they were going in the right direction. “I think we have played more than 35 games in the past 16 months. We won 25 games, and lost 13 games. We are heading in the right direction. At the same time, skill wise, and, compared to others, we need to improve. The players know that, and they have been honest in their conversations during the World Cup. Bowling and batting wise we need to be much more consistent. In addition, for me, the biggest concern is our fielding. We dropped 16 catches which is the highest in the competition.”
In response to a question raised by the media as to whether there had been any influence to remove Dasun Shanaka from the team’s captaincy, Jayawardena said that there had been nothing of that sort. “Dasun was injured, and we acted according to medical advice. We were advised that it would take two to three weeks for his leg to heal. The composition of the team was decided with Dasun. We had to leave Dasun out of the 15 squad and bring in Chamika Karunaratne. Dasun was kept, and trained because we had the option of replacing him again if he got well. There was no other problem otherwise.”
Meanwhile, Mendis was asked by the media whether their record defeat to India in the tournament was due to any influence, and his answer was that there was no such influence. He said that several other teams also had to lose to India, which, he said, was currently a leading cricket team in terms of bowling and batting. “We had no such influence. When we play, we always do it for the country. Unfortunately, the way the bat behaved changed a little while batting the second time. So we could not go to the usual level. The other thing was not only us but several other teams lost by low scores while playing against India. Everyone knows the situation of the Indian team at this time. Whether bowling or batting, they are number one. What we have to say is that no matter what teams we play with, we try to play with team spirit and win for the country. No match is played expecting to lose. We know what our weak points are, what I see is how we can play better with India in the future,” he went on to explain.
Sri Lanka team’s inconsistency cost them dear at the World Cup as the team suffered seven defeats in nine matches at the 50-overs tournament in India. The team, which had already been eliminated, lost by five wickets to New Zealand at Bengaluru’s M. Chinnaswamy Stadium on Thursday while the country also failed to qualify for the ICC Champions Trophy 2025.