Cricket-Sri Lanka rebuilding to win 2026 T20 World Cup, says Shanaka
By Suramya Kaushik
Oct 4 (Reuters) -Sri Lanka are building a robust all-round Twenty20 side with a rich blend of youngsters and experienced players as they dream of winning the 2026 World Cup on home soil, former white-ball captain Dasun Shanaka has said.
Shanaka, who led Sri Lanka to victory in the 2022 T20 Asia Cup, was replaced as captain by Wanindu Hasaranga in December following the team's poor showing in the last three white-ball World Cups.
Hasaranga could not guide Sri Lanka beyond the group stage in this year's T20 World Cup as the island nation, who won the title in 2014, failed to reach the semi-finals for the fourth successive time.
Ahead of the 2026 edition which will be co-hosted by Sri Lanka and India, however, Shanaka expressed optimism.
"We are building a very good team. The best ones like Charith Asalanka, Kamindu Mendis, Kusal Mendis, Sadeera Samarawickrama and a few all-rounders are coming through the ranks," Shanaka told Reuters.
"We're developing a new side and at the same time we have experience... We are a good all-round side. I'm sure we have a very good chance, especially playing in India and Sri Lanka."
Having played more than half of his T20 matches batting at number six since his debut in 2015, Shanaka is hoping to move higher up the order.
"I miss playing long innings, I want to score centuries but my position sometimes asks me questions," Shanaka said.
"I batted at number four in the ZimAfroT10 and I've been a success in this tournament... In the national side, sometimes I bat deep down the order, which doesn't allow me to bat for a long period."
The 33-year-old captained the Harare Bolts in the ZimAfroT10 and featured in the league's team of the season having finished among the top run-scorers.
"I'm happy that I'm now getting a chance to bat a bit high in the order for Sri Lanka. From the team's perspective, winning a World Cup is my dream," he added.
Shanaka said captain Dhananjaya de Silva and coach Sanath Jayasuriya deserve credit for improving the test team in a short period of time.
"Before going to England, we had the domestic first-class season. I scored a couple of hundreds but unfortunately, I missed out on that tour," Shanaka said.
"I desperately want to play the long format because I am good at that as well."
Reporting by Suramya Kaushik in Bengaluru, editing by Ed Osmond
Eng oxirgi yangiliklar
Javobgarlikdan voz kechish: XM Group korxonalari har biri faqat ijro xizmatlarini koʻrsatadi va onlayn savdo platformamizdan foydalanish huquqini beradi, bu odamga veb-saytda yoki veb-sayt orqali mavjud boʻlgan kontentni koʻrish va/yoki undan foydalanishga ruxsat beradi hamda uni oʻzgartirishga moʻljallanmagan va uni oʻzgartirmaydi yoki kengaytirmaydi. Bunday kirish va foydalanish huquqi doimo quyidagilarga boʻysunadi: (i) Shartlar va qoidalar; (ii) Risklar haqida ogohlantirish; va (iii) Javobgarlikni toʻliq rad etish. Shuning uchun bunday kontent umumiy maʼlumot sifatida taqdim etiladi. Xususan, shuni esda tutingki, bizning onlayn savdo platformamiz mazmuni moliyaviy bozorlarda biror bitimni amalga oshirishga oid maslahat yoki taklif emas. Har qanday moliyaviy bozorda savdo qilish sizning kapitalingiz uchun jiddiy risk darajasini oʻz ichiga oladi.
Onlayn savdo platformamizda chop etilgan barcha materiallar faqat taʼlim/axborot maqsadlari uchun moʻljallangan va unda moliyaviy, investitsiya soligʻi yoki savdo maslahatlari va tavsiyalar; yoki bizning savdo narxlarimizning qaydlari; yoki har qanday moliyaviy vositalar bilan bitim tuzish maslahati yoki taklifi; yoki sizga kerak boʻlmagan moliyaviy reklama aksiyalari hisoblanmaydi
Har qanday uchinchi tomon kontenti, shuningdek XM tomonidan tayyorlangan kontent, masalan: fikrlar, yangiliklar, tadqiqotlar, tahlillar, narxlar va boshqa maʼlumotlar yoki bu veb-saytda joylashgan uchinchi tomon saytlariga havolalar umumiy bozor sharhi sifatida "boricha" taqdim etiladi va investitsiya maslahatini tashkil etmaydi. Har qanday kontent investitsiya tadqiqoti sifatida talqin qilinsa, siz bunday kontentni investitsiya tadqiqotlarining mustaqilligini ragʻbatlantirish uchun moʻljallangan qonun talablariga muvofiq moʻljallanmagan va tayyorlanmaganligini eʼtiborga olishingiz va qabul qilishingiz kerak, shuning uchun unga tegishli qonunlar va qoidalarga muvofiq marketing kommunikatsiyasi sifatida qaraladi. Mustaqil boʻlmagan investitsiya tadqiqoti va yuqoridagi maʼlumotlarga oid risk haqida ogohlantirishimizni oʻqib chiqqaningizga va tushunganingizga ishonch hosil qiling, unga bu yerdan kirish mumkin.
