Sri Lanka legend boldly states his emotions as the team misses the semi-finals

In the ongoing T20 World Cup, Sri Lanka suffered its second consecutive Super 8 defeat.

In the ongoing T20 World Cup Super 8’s match, Sri Lanka, chasing 169, were bundled out for just 107. This led the team to their second consecutive Super 8 defeat. Sri Lanka legend Kumar Sangakkara has now reacted to the same. He couldn’t hide his emotions as the co-hosts of the 2026 T20 World Cup crashed out of the tournament on Wednesday following a horror batting collapse at the R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo against New Zealand.

Kumar Sangakkara reacts to the unimpressive batting collapse of Sri Lanka.

Sri Lanka became the first team eliminated at after being bundled out for just 107 against New Zealand in the tournament. Sangakkar admitted to the hurt and anguish after Sri Lanka failed to qualify for the semi-finals for the 5th straight time since lifting the T20 World Cup title in 2014. The former wicketkeeper-batter was part of Sri Lanka’s golden run between 2009 and 2014, when they reached at least the semi-finals in four consecutive editions, making the final in 2009 and 2012 before winning the title two years later. Tweeting about the same, Sangakkara wrote, “There is a lot of hurt all round. The fans are devastated, disappointed, and angry. The players are hurting badly, too. I have been in similar dressing rooms. It’s not easy.”

Sangakkara also highlighted the team’s repeated mistakes.

Sangakkara didn’t stop at empathy. He aimed his next words squarely at the team’s repeated mistakes and inability to adapt to the evolving demands of modern cricket. He added, “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.”

Sri Lanka has struggled for consistency throughout the tournament, barring a win against Australia in the group stage.