Thursday Jun 04, 2026
Thursday Jun 04, 2026
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The Sri Lanka Women’s squad for the Women’s T20 World Cup
Sri Lanka Women’s Captain Chamari Athapaththu addressing the media
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| Chetana Vimukthi late replacement for injured Shashini Gimhani |
By Sa’adi Thawfeeq
Sri Lanka Women’s cricket Captain Chamari Athapaththu said that batting and power hitting was crucial to achieve the scores they require to win matches in the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup in England.
Speaking to the media before her team departs for the UK today, Athapaththu said, “In our group the first two matches are extremely important especially against England and New Zealand. In a tournament of this nature what is most important is the first match which is against the home team England. Our full focus is on it.”
Sri Lanka plays the curtain-raiser match of the World Cup against England at Edgbaston on 12 June, but prior to that they have two warm-up games against Pakistan on 6 June and against the Netherlands on 9 June – both matches at Derby.
“We have to play a free game against teams like England and New Zealand. To win we have to play our best game, you cannot play with doubts and fear in your mind. We are going with an open mind. About a year ago we defeated England in their conditions. The conditions in England are not going to be easy for the spinners. I noticed that the wickets in England did not offer much turn, it might later on when the tournament goes on. But right now, we know it is helpful to the fast bowlers and batters,” continued Athapaththu.
“When you go into a World Cup all the teams we play is a challenge. In our group there is Scotland and Ireland who are better in English conditions than in the subcontinent. Tactically and mentally, they are very good. We can’t take any team lightly. We have not reached the knockout stage of any World Cup, to do that we have to win at least four matches. If we can get there it will be a great achievement for our country. It is not easy, but I am looking forward to going on a long journey with this team.”
Athapaththu said that new head coach Jamie Siddons who began his stint with the Women’s team with WODI and WT20I series wins in England is someone who thinks positively.
“One of the main areas he has emphasised is that our batting has to improve. We have very seldom touched the 160-run mark. The batters have been given the freedom to go and hit the ball without any fear. We may also see a change in our combination for this tournament. We have always gone with two pacers, and four spinners but if we are to be competitive with the top four teams we have to go to the next level by playing two fast bowlers and increasing the number of batters. We will have to go out of the box to achieve that. It is not a strategy we have tried out before but we will put it to the test in this tournament and see how successful we can be. I think we will see some good contributions from the batters.”
Sri Lanka has suffered a late setback with the non-availability of their ambidextrous bowler Sashini Gimhani for the World Cup.
“We had high hopes of going to the World Cup with her but unfortunately, she injured her back two days ago. Today we had to make a decision and in consultation with the doctors and the selection committee we decided that she will not be able to participate in the World Cup,” said Athapaththu.
“It is very sad that at the last moment she is unable to participate. She is only 17.
“I hope she will be able to recover and come back. If you look around there are very few bowlers who can bowl with both hands and also bowl the chinaman which is rare in Women’s cricket.”
Shashini’s place in the team has been given to a fast bowler Chetana Vimukthi adding more firepower to the team with four genuine seamers plus Nilakshika Silva.
