Asia Cup 2018: 3 Reasons Sri Lanka's exit should not surprise you
Sri Lanka's first-round exit from this year's ODI Asia Cup - which they were defending - should not really come across as a surprise, unless you've not been following much cricket recently.
The dip in the form of one of the best Asian teams of the 90's and the 2000's has touched rock bottom, to say the least. While the team still has just about enough time to prepare for the World Cup next June, their shocking exit to two teams that did not play a single Test match before 2000 won't be easy to digest.
The brighter side is that Sri Lanka is still one of the most respected teams for their past achievements. Their rapid emergence in cricketing circles during the 90's, topped by their 1996 World Cup win took the world by surprise.
But if Bangladesh's resurgence after losing for the most part of this century surprised you, Afghanistan's near-exponential growth in the last three years can be compared to Sri Lanka's performances during the 90's.
But what is the reason, that despite challenging World Champion sides like Australia, India, and Pakistan in the last decade, Sri Lanka has now touched such a low? Read on to find out why a country that still possesses many talented players, will go back victory-less from the Asia Cup.
#3 Sri Lanka's recent form
Sri Lanka would have had to play the World Cup qualifiers this year, had West Indies beaten England 4-0 in the ODI Series in England last year. But since West Indies could not do it, Sri Lanka, despite losing 0-5 to Pakistan in the U.A.E., made it to World Cup 2019 directly.
But that defeat was just one of the many limited overs defeat Sri Lanka have suffered in the recent past. After being unable to reach the World Cup semifinal after 16 years, Sri Lanka lost a home Test series against India after 22 years.
Sri Lanka could only manage one win against three losses to exit the 2016 World T20 in the first round. They were also eliminated in the first round of last year's ICC Champions Trophy, which was followed by Zimbabwe winning their ODI tour of Sri Lanka.
That was followed by an all-format whitewash where India beat Sri Lanka in all of the three Tests, five ODI's and only T20I in the latter team's den. After being humiliated in UAE and Pakistan, Sri Lanka again lost all formats on their return tour to India.
In this year's Nidahas Trophy played in Sri Lanka, the home team failed to reach the final of the triangular series. The team even lost a home ODI series against South Africa last month.
Their loss to Bangladesh in this Asia Cup's tournament opener did not come as a surprise, as Bangladesh have emerged a winning side at home and away in the last decade. Looks like Bangladesh and Sri Lanka's fortunes have interchanged in this period, at least for the meanwhile.