Sri Lanka captain Dasun Shanaka calls for government action to stop ‘negativity’ around team after T20 World Cup exit | Cricket News
2 min readFeb 26, 2026 01:35 PM IST Sri Lanka captain Dasun Shanaka said that excessive negativity around the team is a “big loss” to “Sri Lankan cricket” and has asked for the country’s government to put a stop to it for the mental health of future players. Shanaka’s comments came after a 61-run loss to New Zealand knocked Sri Lanka out of contention in the race for the semi-finals of the 2026 T20 World Cup. Videos emerged after the match on social media of fans outside the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo panning the players for their performances. “A lot of times what we see and hear are negative things,” Shanaka said in the post-match press conference. “No matter how we as cricketers try to stay positive, there is negativity outside. That’s a big loss 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 …
