"Some cricketers were behind these social media attacks” - Wanindu Hasaranga’s shocking claims after Sri Lanka’s exit from 2024 T20 World Cup
Sri Lanka T20I captain Wanindu Hasaranga recently expressed his thoughts on the team's early exit from the 2024 T20 World Cup. He also took shots at some cricketers, who criticized the Islanders' performance in the showpiece event.
The Hasaranga-led side failed to go through to the Super Eight after winning only one of their four group games. They signed off from the tournament with an 83-run victory over the Netherlands.
After their elimination was all but confirmed, the Sri Lankan cricket fraternity and fans heavily criticized the team for their under-par performance. In a recent interview with the media, Hasaranga acknowledged that their performance was disappointing but felt that some cricketers went overboard with their criticism on social media.
“We didn’t play well, and that’s why we lost matches. I don’t want to talk about social media," Hasaranga was quoted as saying by Newswire.
He added:
“We know who is behind these posts. There are some people who create pages and post such criticisms just to obtain a higher reach on social media. There are also some cricketers behind this. We cannot do anything about social media."
Wanindu Hasaranga refused to blame pitch and scheduling for T20 World Cup failure
Sri Lanka suffered disappointing defeats against South Africa and Bangladesh. They were all-out for 77 against the Proteas and were restricted to 124 by the Tigers.
The indifferent pitch in New York and the amount of travel time for Sri Lanka were considered the chief reasons behind the team's early exit from the T20 World Cup. However, Wanindu Hasaranga thought the players were responsible for the lacklustre performances.
"When you lose a match you can blame pitches and other things, but as professional cricketers, that's not a good thing," he said in a post-match interview after their win over the Netherlands. "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," he added.
As far as his performance was considered, Wanindu Hasaranga finished with six wickets in three appearances at an economy of 6.97. He also scored 20 runs in the nine deliveries that he faced in the tournament.