Sri Lanka Apologizes for T20 World Cup Exit, Vows to Play for Pride

Sri Lanka's T20 World Cup campaign ended in disappointment as they failed to qualify for the Super Eight stage. Angelo Mathews, the team's most experienced player, expressed his heartfelt apology to the nation for their dismal performance.

The Lankans lost both their completed matches, against South Africa and Bangladesh, and had their fixture against Nepal washed out. Their early exit marks a decade since they last reached the semi-finals of a men's T20 World Cup.

Mathews acknowledged the logistical challenges faced by the team, with their group games scheduled at four different venues. However, he emphasized that these factors should not be used as excuses.

"We've let the entire nation down and we are really sorry because we've let ourselves down. We never expected this," Mathews said. "We came across a lot of challenges but those are not something to worry about. It's unfortunate that we didn't make the second round."

Despite their elimination, Mathews stressed the importance of playing for pride in their final match against Netherlands. He warned against underestimating their opponents, citing Nepal's near-victory over South Africa.

"We can't take any given team lightly," Mathews said. "We saw Nepal almost beat South Africa yesterday. It's unfortunate that our Nepal game was washed out, but it is what it is. We have just one more game in the tournament and we'll play for our pride."

Mathews expressed frustration over the team's inability to replicate their recent T20I series wins. He acknowledged that they had not done justice to their capabilities.

"That's something we regret because [with] the way we played Afghanistan, Zimbabwe, and Bangladesh in Bangladesh, I thought we didn't do justice to our capabilities in this tournament," Mathews said. "When you come into a World Cup, you can't take any team lightly but unfortunately, the way we played against those teams just before the World Cup, and then once we came back here and the way we played, obviously the wickets were quite different but we didn't do justice to ourselves."

Tags: #T20WorldCup, #SriLanka, #AngeloMathews, #Netherlands, #LogisticalChallenges