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Sri Lankan team has been dealt a blow with the resignation of Wanindu Hasaranga as the national team’s T20I captain. The 26-year-old all-rounder submitted a formal letter to Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) on Thursday, requesting immediate release from his leadership duties.
Why Wanindu Hasaranga resigned from captaincy?
SLC officially announced the news through a press release, mentioning that Hasaranga cited “the best interests of the team” as the reason behind his decision. This comes on the heels of a disappointing T20 World Cup campaign for Sri Lanka, where they failed to progress beyond the group stage.
Hasaranga’s captaincy tenure coincided with Sri Lanka’s recent struggles in the shortest format. However, his own off-field disciplinary issues, including suspension of two matches for abusing an umpire during this stint, might have also played a role in the decision.
Sri Lanka won six out of 10 T20Is they played under Hasaranga, winning bilateral series against Zimbabwe and Afghanistan in the early 2024.
Sri Lanka’s T20 World Cup woes
Sri Lanka’s performance in the 2024 T20 World Cup fell short of expectations. They suffered losses against South Africa and Bangladesh in the group stage, managing only one victory against Netherlands. Rain washed out their match against Nepal, leaving them with a third-place finish in Group D with just three points.
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Hasaranga’s resignation letter to Sri Lanka Cricket
Despite stepping down from captaincy, Hasaranga reiterated his commitment to Sri Lanka Cricket. In his resignation letter, he stated, “Sri Lanka will always have my utmost best efforts as a player, and I will support and stand by my team and leadership as always.”
“Sri Lanka’s early exit at the T20 World Cup is extremely disappointing to me as the captain and for the entire team,” Hasaranga wrote.
“As a team and a nation our expectations were high, and I was confident that the best Sri Lanka team was selected to play the tournament.
He further remarked: “I do not wish to place excuses to condone our below-par performance, but also wholeheartedly believe that the Bangladesh game was very close and we should have been able to pull through. If so, circumstances and the fortunes for our nation would have been very much different.”
In the meantime, SLC has confirmed that Hasaranga will continue to be a crucial member of their future squads.
The hunt for Hasaranga’s replacement is underway, with the new captain set to be named ahead of the upcoming home series against India.
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