"As professional cricketers, that's not a good thing" - Hasaranga refuses to place blame on pitches and scheduling behind Sri Lanka's T20 WC exit
Sri Lanka T20I skipper Wanindu Hasaranga refused to pin the blame on the surfaces or logistics for his team's dismal performance in the 2024 T20 World Cup. The Lankans recorded a consolation win over the Netherlands recently as they finished third in the group and failed to advance to the Super 8s.
The tournament held in the Caribbean and the United States of America (USA) was forgettable for Sri Lanka, for a wide variety of reasons. Even before the tournament started, the Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) lodged a complaint with the International Cricket Council (ICC) stating that the team hotel was far from the venue in New York. They also highlighted the fact that their flight after the warm-up match against Ireland in Florida was delayed up to seven hours.
Sri Lanka began the group stage on the worst possible note, getting skittled out for just 77 runs against South Africa in New York. They then suffered a narrow loss to Bangladesh in Dallas, and their hopes of qualifying were squandered after the game against Nepal was washed out due to rain in Florida.
"When you lose a match you can blame pitches and other things, but as professional cricketers, that's not a good thing. Even the other team has to play on the same pitch, and it's our job to change the way we play. We're representing a country and have to take that responsibility. We didn't make those changes and adapt, and that was our main flaw," Hasaranga said following Sri Lanka's 83-run win over the Netherlands.
Sri Lanka posted a commanding 201/6 without a single fifty against the Dutch. The bowlers then defended the total with ease, led by Nuwan Thusara's three-wicket haul.
"When we moved from one region in the USA to another, the pitches were not the same" - Wanindu Hasaranga
The conditions have been the talking point in the 2024 T20 World Cup, particularly the pitches in the USA. The drop-in pitches at the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium garnered a notorious reputation for producing low-scoring matches. The pitches showed inconsistent bounce and the outfield was slow and sluggish.
Sri Lanka also did not have the luxury of sides like India and South Africa to play multiple group-stage matches at the same venue. Wanindu Hasaranga and company were constantly traveling and needed to adapt to conditions as quickly as possible.
"When we moved from one region in the USA to another, the pitches were not the same. Even though in some countries pitches are more similar from place to place, that's not the case in the USA," Hasaranga stated.
"We adjusted as well as we could, but we unfortunately got New York for the first match, and it didn't go well for us. In the second match we went to Dallas and didn't adjust well to that pitch. As a team and as a captain we have to take the responsibility for that," Hasaranga concluded.
Sri Lanka primarily boasted a bowling-dominant side, and their batters failed to adapt and back their bowlers with defendable totals when it mattered.