Co-hosts Sri Lanka’s T20 World Cup 2026 campaign ended with a 61-run defeat to New Zealand in Colombo, prompting captain Dasun Shanaka to call for a long-term structural reset built around fitness, planning and smarter to conditions.
“I think fitness should be number one when playing for a country. That’s unnegotiable,” Shanaka said after the loss to New Zealand on Wednesday. He acknowledged that injuries to key players such as Wanindu Hasaranga and Matheesha Pathirana made continuity difficult, while stressing that fitness standards must remain uniform across squad.
“I played all past five World Cups, except one World Cup, this was the topic that has been spoken in all the other World Cups-injuries, injuries, how do we do better in those?” reflected Shanaka.
Shanaka also pointed to the importance of long-term planning over short-term fixes. “If we are going to a World Cup plan, we should go with long-term goals. It’s hard to play a tournament like this with short-term goals,” he said. On his own role, he remained measured: “As a captain, I have no idea how long I’ll be a captain. That’s decided by the selectors. I’m happy I had this opportunity and that I could captain at a World Cup.”
Reflecting on conditions, particularly at the R. Premadasa Stadium, Shanaka said the team had expected better batting surfaces. “The best batsman in Sri Lanka are here. No one is forced to play cricket. We also want to do something for the country,” he said.
On power-hitting, Shanaka admitted there is scope for growth and emphasised adaptability. While big hitting is valuable on truer pitches such as in Pallekele, he noted that on slower surfaces, methods like sweeps and reverse sweeps become equally important.
Despite elimination, Shanaka urged his side to finish the tournament strongly. “No matter the problems we have, we have to go very positively as a team. It’s very important to finish a World Cup well because it gives momentum for the next tournament,” he said.
