All posts tagged: Dasun Shanaka

RR head coach Sangakkara blasts Sam Curran for skipping IPL 2026 season

RR head coach Sangakkara blasts Sam Curran for skipping IPL 2026 season

Published by Webster

3 min readMay 30, 2026 09:51 AM IST After his team’s IPL 2026 exit with a defeat to the Gujarat Titans in the Qualifier 2 match on Friday, Rajasthan Royals head coach Kumar Sangakkara slammed English all-rounder Sam Curran for skipping the two-month-long tournament on the pretext of an injury. Curran, who was part of a trade deal with Chennai Super Kings ahead of the season, was roped in for Rs 2.4 crore alongside Ravindra Jadeja in exchange for Sanju Samson. However, with the Englishman conveying his unavailability thereafter, RR roped in Sri Lankan all-rounder Dasun Shanaka as his replacement. Sangakkara, however, said it was disappointing to see Curran turn up for his county side Surrey later on. “We were told that Sam Curran had a season-ending injury, but I think I saw him playing for Surrey for two or three games now, so that was disappointing,” Sangakkara told reporters in Mullanpur after RR’s seven-wicket defeat. “We’d have loved to have had him here playing for us, but we got Dasun Shanaka as a replacement …

Dasun Shanaka draws Pakistan Cricket Board ire for joining IPL after quitting PSL

Dasun Shanaka draws Pakistan Cricket Board ire for joining IPL after quitting PSL

Published by Webster

3 min readApr 20, 2026 08:15 PM IST Sri Lanka’s Dasun Shanaka has become the latest to draw the Pakistan Cricket Board’s (PCB) ire for joining an Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise after being initially contracted to play in the Pakistan Super League (PSL). The PCB announced on Monday that it has banned Shanaka from playing in the PSL next season. Shanaka was initially set to turn up for the Lahore Qalandars. He withdrew from the tournament on March 21 this year and was then signed by Rajasthan Royals a day later as a replacement for injured England all-rounder Sam Curran. Shanaka is yet to play a match this season. “The review concluded that the player’s unilateral withdrawal from the tournament on March 21, 2026, constituted a clear breach of both the Player Registration terms and the Tripartite Agreement. The findings indicated that the withdrawal was made on grounds not recognized within the existing contractual framework,” said the PCB in its statement. Shanaka issued an apology which was included in the board’s statement on Monday. …

Sam Curran breaks silence on missing IPL 2026 for Rajasthan Royals: ‘It will be tough to watch’

Sam Curran breaks silence on missing IPL 2026 for Rajasthan Royals: ‘It will be tough to watch’

Published by Parlour News

Sam Curran, the England all-rounder, finally broke his silence on missing the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 due to a groin injury. The 27-year-old was all set to represent the Rajasthan Royals after being traded to the inaugural champions; however, a last-minute injury after the T20 World Cup 2026 ruled him out of the competition. Curran, who has emerged as one of the finest pacers in the shortest format of late, was traded to Rajasthan by CSK last year for INR 2.40 crore. Both Curran and Ravindra Jadeja joined Rajasthan, while the five-time champions got Sanju Samson on board. Sam Curran will miss IPL 2026 for the Rajasthan Royals. (PTI) Speaking to the BBC, Curran revealed he was carrying a groin injury at the T20 World Cup, where England reached the semi-finals and lost to India at the Wankhede Stadium. He stated that he underwent scans after the tournament ended, which required him to rest and undergo rehabilitation. “It’s an injury that I’ve kind of been battling with a little bit. It has gradually got …

Sri Lanka end Pakistan’s T20 World Cup campaign as Farhan-Fakhar stand goes in vain

Sri Lanka end Pakistan’s T20 World Cup campaign as Farhan-Fakhar stand goes in vain

Published by Webster

5 min readUpdated: Feb 28, 2026 11:19 PM IST Many times on Saturday night, hope flickered for Pakistan. It was burning bright when Sahibzada Farhan and Fakhar Zaman, through their record 176-run opening stand, powered them to 212/8, setting the stage for a dramatic chase. If Pakistan restricted a struggling Sri Lanka to 147 or below, a place in the semi-finals was theirs. Every time Abrar Ahmed landed blows, Pakistan remained on the edge of their seats, before Pavan Rathnayake and Dasun Shanaka gave New Zealand a lifeline while going down. Sri Lanka, already out of the T20 World Cup, took Pakistan with them — which means the knockouts will now be held entirely in India. For Pakistan, this marks another ICC event where they have failed to make the knockouts. With Sri Lanka deciding to bowl first, everything came down to whether Pakistan’s attack could close out the game in batting-friendly conditions. Having played all their fixtures so far on slow, spin-friendly surfaces, Pakistan got a belter for a match where they had to …

Sri Lanka captain Dasun Shanaka outlines reset plan post T20 World Cup exit

Sri Lanka captain Dasun Shanaka outlines reset plan post T20 World Cup exit

Published by Webster

2 min readFeb 26, 2026 05:36 PM IST Co-hosts Sri Lanka’s T20 World Cup 2026 campaign ended with a 61-run defeat to New Zealand in Colombo, prompting captain Dasun Shanaka to call for a long-term structural reset built around fitness, planning and smarter to conditions. “I think fitness should be number one when playing for a country. That’s unnegotiable,” Shanaka said after the loss to New Zealand on Wednesday. He acknowledged that injuries to key players such as Wanindu Hasaranga and Matheesha Pathirana made continuity difficult, while stressing that fitness standards must remain uniform across squad. “I played all past five World Cups, except one World Cup, this was the topic that has been spoken in all the other World Cups-injuries, injuries, how do we do better in those?” reflected Shanaka. Shanaka also pointed to the importance of long-term planning over short-term fixes. “If we are going to a World Cup plan, we should go with long-term goals. It’s hard to play a tournament like this with short-term goals,” he said. On his own role, …

Sri Lanka captain Dasun Shanaka calls for government action to stop ‘negativity’ around team after T20 World Cup exit | Cricket News

Sri Lanka captain Dasun Shanaka calls for government action to stop ‘negativity’ around team after T20 World Cup exit | Cricket News

Published by Webster

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 …

T20 World Cup: What happens if Australia lose to Sri Lanka in crucial Group B clash? Scenarios explained | Cricket News

T20 World Cup: What happens if Australia lose to Sri Lanka in crucial Group B clash? Scenarios explained | Cricket News

Published by Webster

3 min readFeb 16, 2026 09:02 PM IST While a lot of attention was on Group D as Group of Death, featuring Afghanistan, New Zealand and South Africa, it is mighty Australia are in real danger of exiting the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup before the Super Eights from Group B. Hit by injuries and batting struggles, Australia lost their second match in Group B clash against Zimbabwe, thoroughly outplayed by Sikandar Raza’s side for most part of the match in Colombo. That defeat gave Zimbabwe two wins in two, just like Sri Lanka. Australia are facing a must-win situation in Pallekele against Dasun Shanka’s co-hosts. With Mitch Marsh back in the side, Australia posted 181, making it a fascinating run-chase in prospect for Sri Lanka. What are the standings in Group B before SL vs AUS? Sri Lanka are top of the standings with two wins and a superb Net Run Rate of +3.125. Zimbabwe’s wins against Oman and Australia also puts them on four points from two matches, with a solid NRR of …

‘We were not allowed to go out much’

‘We were not allowed to go out much’

Published by Webster

Sri Lanka captain Dasun Shanaka thanked the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and their security forces for ensuring the team’s safety during their tour, which was under heightened alert after a recent bomb blast. This came after the T20I Tri-Series final loss at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium on Saturday, a match that saw Sri Lanka collapse from a strong position. After being 81-1, they lost their last eight wickets for just 16 runs to be bowled out for 114. Pakistan chased down the target of 115 with six wickets and eight balls to spare. After the match, Shanaka acknowledged the security situation. “We enjoyed this tournament as a group. Unfortunately, we were not allowed to go out much,” he said after the match, referring to restrictions following a bomb blast. “Credit to the security forces; they supported us in every situation. It’s not easy to handle all this, to organise everything. I must thank PCB for ensuring our safety,” he added. Earlier, at least eight Sri Lankan cricketers were said to have expressed fears for their …

Sri Lanka captain Charith Asalanka and Asitha Fernando to return home from Pakistan tour due to illness | Cricket News

Sri Lanka captain Charith Asalanka and Asitha Fernando to return home from Pakistan tour due to illness | Cricket News

Published by Webster

Sri Lanka captain Charith Asalanka and Asitha Fernando will return home from the Pakistan tour due to “illness”, Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) announced on their X handle without specifying what the illness was. SLC said that the two players will not take part in the upcoming tri-series featuring Sri Lanka, Pakistan, and Zimbabwe. The board added: “This precautionary decision ensures they receive proper care and sufficient time to recover ahead of future assignments.” ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW VIDEO This comes on the heels of reports from the Sri Lankan camp less than a week ago where as many as eight Sri Lankan cricketers were said to be scared for their safety and eager to return home after a suicide bombing in Pakistan’s capital Islamabad, killing 12 and wounding 27 outside a district court building. At that point, the SLC had stepped in, and “instructed all players, support staff, and team management to continue with the tour as scheduled.” The Sri Lankan board had also issued a threat of a “formal review” in case any players or …

IPL 2025: As CSK sign Dewald Brevis and GT sign Dasun Shanaka, here are all the squad changes so far this season | Ipl News

IPL 2025: As CSK sign Dewald Brevis and GT sign Dasun Shanaka, here are all the squad changes so far this season | Ipl News

Published by Webster

IPL 2025 squad changes, full list: With the international calendar busy as ever and the Indian Premier League season witnessing a new high in terms of the number of matches over the last few seasons, there tend to be multiple changes in a squad, enforced by injuries. Here’s a look at all the squad changes in IPL 2025 so far. Brevis for Gurjapneet (CSK) Not long after losing their captain, CSK rang in another change to their squad, bolstering their batting unit with the addition of Dewald Brevis as a replacement for injured Tamil Nadu pacer Gurjapneet Singh. Brevis has played 81 T20s and scored 1787 runs with a highest score of 162. He made his T20I Debut for South Africa in 2023 and has played 2 T20Is so far. Brevis is not a stranger to the league as he was previously part of Mumbai Indians, where he played 10 matches, but despite the pre-tournament hype, couldn’t quite get the consistency going. He joins CSK for INR 2.2 Crore. Shanaka for Phillips (GT) Sri Lankan …