Charith Senanayake speaks up

Friday, 27 February 2026 00:10 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Former cricketer Charith Senanayake has spoken out about the dismal performance of the Sri Lanka team in the on-going ICC Men’s T20 World Cup. Following are his comments posted on his Facebook.

After an embarrassing loss on home soil, the big question that needs to be asked is, why did we choose to bat second on a pitch historically known to grip and slow down as the game progresses. Did they seriously expect it to get better in the second half?

If dew was expected and the reason, that would have been known well before the match, and the strategy could have been planned accordingly. That’s almost 10% of game planning and preparing.

Did we “misread” the wicket despite having so many consultants available to advise the team? If none of them were capable of making that assessment, perhaps we need to consider appointing a “proper pitch reading consultant” in the future.

Having reduced New Zealand’s top order to 87, why did we continue to bowl full on a sluggish surface and concede so many full tosses that were punished severely?

Even a layman understands that on slow turners you avoid pitching the ball up and instead hit the deck hard, bowling into the surface. This is a tactic adopted by almost every major cricketing nation today.

Then there is the claim that negativity on social media affected performance.

When the team rarely attends mainstream media conferences and sends foreign batting consultants to answer questions, why point fingers at social media?

These explanations sound like lame excuses, attempts to deflect blame onto external factors instead of accepting responsibility.

Perhaps the real reason for choosing to bat second will remain a mystery, or maybe someone will eventually reveal the thinking behind it.

Whatever the reasoning, the decision proved costly. Had we batted first and posted 140, we might have had a chance with the pitch offering more spin later. Of course, one could argue that we failed to defend 170+ against Zimbabwe just days earlier after batting first.

Now that we are eliminated, it feels like “Operation successful, patient dead”.

As fans, all we ask for is clarity. Someone needs to step forward and take responsibility.

Real slim shady please stand up.