Sri Lanka crashed out of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 after a poor batting show against New Zealand in Colombo. Former all rounder Farveez Maharoof said the defeat was hurtful, painful and shameful, as the team failed again in a must win match.
Sri Lanka had already been bowled out for 95 against England earlier in the tournament. The latest loss ended their hopes of reaching the semi-finals. Maharoof said the team was not up to the mark with the bat and repeated the same mistakes in key games.
Soft dismissals cost Sri Lanka
Speaking after the match, Maharoof said most of the wickets given away were soft. He pointed out that apart from Pathum Nissanka, who was dismissed by a good ball from Matt Henry, the rest of the batters threw their wickets away.
He said the pitch was not easy for free stroke play, but that was no excuse for poor shot selection. According to him, the same pattern was seen in the loss to England, where all ten wickets fell to soft dismissals.
Nissanka has been Sri Lanka’s best batter in the tournament. He scored a match-winning 100 not out off 52 balls against Australia. But in this crucial match, he was out on the first ball to Henry, which Maharoof said ended whatever hopes Sri Lanka had.
Call for a change in team setup.
Sri Lanka came into the World Cup after losing a home series 3-0 to England. They beat Oman and Ireland in the group stage and also defeated Australia. But since then, they have lost to Zimbabwe, England, and New Zealand.
Maharoof said it has become a bad habit for the team to show promise in one game and then fail in the next. He added that he has been repeating the same concerns for many years.
He urged the selectors and team management to think seriously about the future. He said they must decide which players should continue and which ones should move on. He expects some hard decisions to be made in the coming weeks.
Sri Lanka will play their final match of the tournament against Pakistan in Pallekele on February 28. However, that game will be only for pride, as their campaign has already ended.
