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.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
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.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
It also provoked unprecedented booing from the 35,000-strong crowd in Colombo and calls for heads to roll.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
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.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Sri Lanka head coach Sanath Jayasuriya had already informed the board that he would step down after the World Cup.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Now captain Dasun Shanaka and the selectors seem likely to follow or be axed after an embarrassing campaign.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
"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.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Former captain Marvan Atapattu was scathing about Sri Lanka's preparations.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
"Most teams have moved on with the times playing T20 cricket, but we have stagnated and made little progress," Atapattu told AFP.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
"You need to identify your core players and stick with them.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
"In Sri Lanka's case, they had no idea what their team was going to be even a week before the tournament.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
"It doesn't work that way in international sport."<\/p>\r\n\r\n
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.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
"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.
\r\n <\/p>\r\n",
"image": "https:\/\/img.cricketnmore.com\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Dasun-Shanaka-T20-World-cup-2026.jpg",
"alt_img": "Calls For Heads To Roll After Feeble Sri Lanka T20 World Cup Exit",
"alt_title": "Calls For Heads To Roll After Feeble Sri Lanka T20 World Cup Exit",
"image1": null,
"video": null,
"seo_title": "Calls For Heads To Roll After Feeble Sri Lanka T20 World Cup Exit On Cricketnmore",
"seo_desc": "Pressure is mounting on Sri Lanka's captain, coach and the selection panel to step down after the co-hosts' feeble exit, Calls For Heads To Roll After Feeble Sri Lanka T20 World Cup Exit.",
"seo_keywords": "Sri Lanka Cricket Team, ICC T20 World Cup 2026",
"tag": null,
"tagging": "Sri Lanka Cricket Team,ICC T20 World Cup 2026,",
"status": "1",
"img_rpt": "0",
"google": "1",
"standout": "0",
"edapps": "0",
"pulse": "0",
"no_index": "0",
"feed": "0",
"fixture": null,
"slug": "calls-for-heads-to-roll-after-feeble-sri-lanka-t20-world-cup-exit",
"user_id": "0",
"read_count": "1",
"ians_date": null,
"ians_time": null,
"server_time": null,
"trash": "0",
"view_count": "273",
"page_break": "0",
"instant_articles": "1",
"auto_link": "1",
"created": "2026-02-26 22:06:01",
"updated": "2026-02-26 22:06:01",
"img_from": "Image Source: AFP",
"img_source": null,
"schedule_publish": null,
"news_keywords": "Sri Lanka Cricket Team, ICC T20 World Cup 2026",
"livescore_text": null,
"livescore_link": null,
"btn_text": null,
"resend_feed": "0",
"google_feed": "0",
"read_more": "1",
"posted_by": "13",
"jio_date": "2026-02-26 22:06:01",
"scheduled": "0",
"news_now": "1",
"breaking_news": "1",
"google_date": null,
"featured": "0",
"pred_match_id": "Select",
"article_content_type": null,
"link": "https:\/\/www.cricketnmore.com\/cricket-news\/calls-for-heads-to-roll-after-feeble-sri-lanka-t20-world-cup-exit-189497"
}