Published: Mar 27, 2016, 11:15 AM (IST)
Edited: Mar 27, 2016, 11:15 AM (IST)
Sri Lanka skipper Angelo Mathews pleaded for patience from Sri Lankan cricket fans and administrators after the reigning champions crashed out of the T20 World Cup 2016 at the group stages. Sri Lanka’s surrender of the trophy they won in 2014 is further evidence of their decline in the last two years, a process accelerated by the retirements of batting legends Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene. Now down at eight in the T20 rankings, Sri Lanka had a disastrous showing at the recent Asia Cup and came into the sixth edition of the World T20 tournament after recently changing their coach and captain. FULL CRICKET SCORECARD: England vs Sri Lanka, T20 World Cup 2016, Match 29 at Delhi
Following a less than convincing win over minnows Afghanistan in their opening match, they were then badly beaten by the West Indies before Saturday’s narrow 10-run defeat to England. Mathews, who is already Sri Lanka’s Test captain, was appointed skipper of the T20 team on the eve of the tournament after veteran fast bowler Lasith Malinga failed to shake off a knee injury. “It’s been a disappointing few months for all of us. We have let down our fans, we let down the whole country. And we haven’t played good cricket at all. We are really disappointed,” he said at a press conference after Saturday’s defeat.
“All we can do is stick to the combination, not try and change the team too much. Try to pick about 20 players and, you know, revalue then after six months, give them the opportunity to settle down and then try and see what they have come up with in term of performances.”
