Sri Lanka had faced significant public criticism in the lead-up to this World Cup, having had largely poor results in limited-overs formats since the middle of last year.
“A lot of times what we see and hear are negative things,” Shanaka said. “No matter how we as cricketers try to stay positive, there is negativity outside. That’s a big loss for for Sri Lankan cricket. This is the only sport we have, and I don’t know if we’ll be able to protect it. If you look outside the stadium you’ll see how many people are standing outside with mics, and people will say stuff without having watched the match.”
With Sri Lanka now having lost successive matches to Zimbabwe, England, and New Zealand to crash out of this World Cup, criticism is likely to again intensify significantly.
Shanaka said the “negativity” the team faced had become so severe, that perhaps the country’s government should intervene to protect future generations of players.
“Why spread this negativity? Yes, we lost a World Cup, and we know the reasons. Everyone has concerns. More than talking about that and correcting it, the negativity has come to the fore. We will play and leave, but if for the players who will come in the future, if the government can even stop it [the negativity] that’s better for their mental health.”
Shanaka conceded he and the team management had misread the Khettarama surface, which he did not expect to take so much spin from so early on. Sri Lanka lost six of their wickets to New Zealand’s spinners, as they limped to 107 for 8.
In general, Shanaka believed that the pitches Sri Lanka have played on at this World Cup could have been more batting-friendly. He had made complaints about the spin-friendly nature of Sri Lanka decks, even before the tournament.
“I said before the start of the tournament that I expected the wickets to be good for batting. Sri Lanka’s best batters are here. We’ve picked players who have good domestic strike-rates and ability. No one is here by force.
“Sometimes we don’t get conditions we want, and we lose matches in unexpected ways. We’re very sad about what has happened.”
“You’ve also got to make fitness a non-negotiable,” Shanaka said. “When you have the number of injuries we’ve had, it’s hard to get a good outcome. Wanindu Hasaranga is such a key player for us. We also know how important Matheesha Pathirana is. Eshan Malinga was injured as well. Your fitness level influences your injuries. There are some players who can’t even get into the team because of fitness issues. That’s something we’ve talked about a lot over several World Cups now.”
“The team is always trying to perform, especially in a World Cup, and I don’t think anyone here will be able to play in a World Cup in Sri Lanka again,” Shanaka said. “Everyone had the desire to get into a semi-final. We all had that desire. But we didn’t do justice to the expectations. We couldn’t give fans what we wanted. For that we’re sorry.”
