Maharoof expects 'hard decisions' after Sri Lanka's World Cup exit

"I'm going to put it very simple: it's hurtful, it's painful and it's shameful," Farveez Maharoof, the former Sri Lanka allrounder, said, pretty much summing up the mood among cricket fans in the island after their abject failure against New Zealand on Wednesday in Colombo. That it came after being bowled out for 95 by England and meant Sri Lanka's T20 World Cup 2026 was over just added to the sense of dejection.

"It's not a pitch that you can play through the line, I get it. But the way some of the batters just gifted their wickets away, apart from Pathum Nissanka's delivery [from Matt Henry], every other dismissal was a soft dismissal, giving the wickets away, just like the England game, where all ten were soft dismissals," Maharoof said on ESPNcricinfo TimeOut after the match. "Continuing the same trend into another game, a must-win game, shows Sri Lanka were not up to the mark with the bat."

Nissanka has been Sri Lanka's best batter in the tournament, and the main man in their win over Australia, when he slammed a 52-ball 100 not out. On Wednesday, Henry produced a peach to Nissanka first ball, and "whatever hopes that Sri Lanka had just vanished".

At the T20 World Cup, which Sri Lanka came to after losing 3-0 to England in a series at home, they beat Oman and Ireland, teams ranked lower than them, and then Australia in the group stage, but since then, it has all been downhill. Zimbabwe, England and now New Zealand have beaten Sri Lanka, and the last two have come after poor batting performances.

"It's becoming a bad habit to have. I have been doing this [analysis] for seven-eight years, I keep saying the same old thing: once in a while, a good game, and our hopes are high; all of a sudden, come crashing down to the earth," Maharoof said, referring to the Australia game. "It's not the first time. I just hope something down the line, this has to come to an end, some hard decisions have to be made.

"I think after the next game, before the next series starts, Sri Lanka's selectors and the think tank should really think of the future, what are the capabilities of the players, who should stick and who should not stick, and move on. I expect probably in the next couple of weeks, some hard decisions are going to be made. If not, I will be very surprised."

Sri Lanka end their campaign with a game against Pakistan, in Pallekele on February 28.

Source: ESPNcricinfo