Kumar Sangakkara laments Sri Lanka doing ‘same things over and over’ after T20 World Cup exit, issues ominous warning

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3 min readFeb 26, 2026 06:21 PM IST

Sri Lanka were restricted to a paltry 107/8 chasing a target of 169. (AP Photo)

Sri Lanka’s ouster from the race for the semifinal of the 2026 T20 World Cup was confirmed on Wednesday when they lost to New Zealand by 61 runs at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo. It was met with widespread anger from fans at the stadium and former captain and batting great Kumar Sangakkara said that Sri Lanka could slip into “irrelevance” in world cricket if they don’t course correct.

“There is a lot of hurt all round,” said Sangakkara in his post. “The fans devastated , disappointed , angry. The players are hurting badly too. I have been in similar dressing rooms. It’s not easy. But this responsibility comes with the turf. It’s a burden and a great privilege to represent your country and your people. There is a lot of work to be done at all levels to course correct. We can’t do the same things over and over and expect different results when the cricket world around us has evolved so quickly. We haven’t adapted and the danger is irrelevance.”

There is a lot of hurt all round. The fans devastated , disappointed , angry. The players are hurting badly too. I have been in similar dressing rooms. It’s not easy. But this responsibility comes with the turf. It’s a burden and a great privilege to represent your country and

— Kumar Sangakkara (@KumarSanga2) February 26, 2026

your people. There is a lot of work to be done at all levels to course correct. We can’t do the same things over and over and expect different results when the cricket world around us has evolved so quickly. We haven’t adapted and the danger is irrelevance.

— Kumar Sangakkara (@KumarSanga2) February 26, 2026

Considered one of the greatest batters of all time, Sangakkara was part of the Sri Lankan squad that made it to back-to-back World Cup finals in 2007 and 2011, with him as captain for the latter. He was also part of the Sri Lankan teams that made it to the final of the T20 World Cup in 2009, 2012 and 2014, winning the latter of those tournaments.

On Wednesday against New Zealand in Colombo, as on Sunday against England, and as last Thursday against Zimbabwe, Sri Lanka capitulated in such spectacular fashion that it was easy to forget they were playing on their own turf, and had a squad suitable for making a deep run in this tournament.

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