Calls for heads to roll after feeble Sri Lanka T20 World Cup exit

COLOMBO: Pressure is mounting on Sri Lanka’s captain, coach and the selection panel to step down after the co-hosts’ feeble exit from the T20 World Cup with a match to spare.

A second Super Eights defeat, where Sri Lanka never threatened to get near their 169 target against New Zealand ended their hopes of reaching the semi-finals.

It also provoked unprecedented booing from the 35,000-strong crowd in Colombo and calls for heads to roll.

The group win over Australia had hopes high for a run to at least the semi-finals, but it is now a distant memory after Sri Lanka’s batting was exposed time and again on turning pitches.

Sri Lanka head coach Sanath Jayasuriya had already informed the board that he would step down after the World Cup.

Now captain Dasun Shanaka and the selectors seem likely to follow or be axed after an embarrassing campaign.

READ MORE: New Zealand knock sorry Sri Lanka out of T20 World Cup

“We have one more game in the competition and we will address what went wrong during the World Cup after that game and take the necessary steps,” a Sri Lanka Cricket spokesperson told AFP.

Former captain Marvan Atapattu was scathing about Sri Lanka’s preparations.

“Most teams have moved on with the times playing T20 cricket, but we have stagnated and made little progress,”  Atapattu told AFP.

“You need to identify your core players and stick with them.

“In Sri Lanka’s case, they had no idea what their team was going to be even a week before the tournament.

“It doesn’t work that way in international sport.”

Sri Lanka lost three front-line bowlers to injury in the first week of the tournament, with fingers being pointed at the amount of lucrative franchise cricket being played.

“When your players are involved in league cricket all over the world, there is a good chance that they break down just before a crucial campaign and that’s what happened to Sri Lanka,” Atapattu added.