Shanaka calls for prolonged reset after World Cup exit

Sri Lanka captain Dasun Shanaka has called for a structural reset after his team's semi-final hopes were dashed with a 61-run defeat against New Zealand in Colombo. He insisted that fitness Standards and long-term planning should improve if the team is to compete consistently in global competitions.

“I think fitness should be number one when playing for a country,” Shanaka said. “Because it's not negotiable. If we have injuries, it is very difficult to achieve the result we are thinking about. Everyone knows how good Vanindu Hasranga is, and Mathesh Pathi How important are Rana and Ishaan Malinga. When we don't have t these players, I'm not saying it's an excuse. Most injuries are related to physical fitness. Few players team due to fitness issues I can't get in. We talk about this all the time e. I think it should be the same for all players.”

He explained that recurrent injury concerns have led to a number of global tournaments I have followed Sri Lanka.

“I played all the last five World Cups, except one World Cup, it was the subject that has been spoken in all the other World Cups. Injuries, injuries, how can we do better in them.”

SanA f. a For, the problem extends from the fitness to the planner to the clarity of the ng cycle and direction. “If we are going to plan the World Cup, we should go to long-term goals, short-term goals for us. It's hard to play this kind of tournament together, ”he said.

"As a captain, I don't know how long I will be captain, it is decided by the selectors, by Sri Lanka Cricket. I'm glad I got this opportunity for so long. I had a lot of good decisions, and oh, I've made mistakes, too. In fact, I'm glad I was able to play the World Cup as a captain.”

Shanaka insists He said the team was selected with the expectation of better batting surfaces, but Condy was particularly r. Premadasa Stadium did not work as expected.

"Before the start of the tournament, I mentioned Or that I expected the wickets to be good, "Shanaka said.“ The best bats are men here in Sri Lanka. Players with good strike rate and ability have been selected from domestic cricket. Neither is forced to play cricket. We also want to do something for the country.

“So honestly, we're very sorry for what happened. No one goes there to fail. Everyone good Goes with the intention of picking up and winning for the team. Unfortunately, we don't always get the bet ns we want. Sometimes we lose games because of small changes that we don't even think about. Theladies are very sad about it as well.”

Acknowledging that lightning strikes continue to be a matter of concern, Shaan alias said that for success in Sri Lanka, it is more about surfaces rather than relying solely on brute force. It also needs to be adaptable.

“When considering power hitting, yes, there is a shortage of power hitting all over Sri Lanka,” said HE. “But we have to play according to the conditions here. We need to check or how much power is needed for those situations. In Pallekele, sometimes we get good wickets and power hitting is helpful. On a wicket like this, we expected it to be good.

"L But on a wicket like today, power hitting is not so important. There are reverse sweeps and sweeps. Kamindu Mendis got into trouble and used his reverse sweep and sweep well. Dunith Wellal age is the same. We often have to fight these situations in Sri Lanka, and this is normal. When bowlers make mistakes in such a situation, it is difficult for us to stop other teams. Power hitting h Yes, but in these circumstances it also matters how the team management chooses the team.”

Considering the disappointment of the exit there is still a Super Eight match left as World Cup co-host, Shanaka na I accepted that the team had fallen short of expectations and apologized to fans who have visited a large number of venues.

“We feel very sorry about this,” he said. "England's match was one that We could have won. I'm not saying this, but if we were smarter, we could have won it. This match was one-sided, even bowling well. For the audience, I have nothing to say is. We haven't given them a win to cheer them up."

He also addressed the external investigation around the side and i mpact of “negativity” on the players.

"Everyone wanted to get to the semi-finals. I Looks like we didn't do enough to reduce the negativity, "Shanaka said.“ Their negativity is justified, but in humanity we are players. We want to win all the time and give a good result to the country are. Unfortunately, nothing good happened to us at this time. We're so sorry about that.”

“Paddy Upton worked with us and was overwhelmingly supportive. But as players, controlling external noise Very difficult. Most of the time we hear negative things. No matter how positive we are, a negative environment is created from the external environment D. This is a nuance for cricket in Sri Lanka San. We lost a World Cup and we know the reasons. We all have concerns. But negativity has come a long way from correcting issues. for the players thereafter, if the government can intervene and If you can stop those things, it will be a great help for better mental health.”

Despite being out, Shanaka said the team should end the tournament with a positive comment. "It doesn't matter No matter how many problems we have, we have to go very positively as a team. It is very important to finish the World Cup well as a team as it will be ti.”