Asalanka Says Sri Lanka Need Better Balance Ahead of T20 World Cup

Sri Lanka’s Asia Cup campaign is hanging by a thread. They are almost out of the Asia Cup, the captain Charith Asalanka didn’t shy away from admitting what went wrong. After another collapse against Pakistan in the Super Four stage, he said his side must “get combinations right ahead of the World Cup” and accepted responsibility for his own dismissal.

The turning point came in the eighth over of Sri Lanka’s innings. At 58 for 3, the game was still balanced when Asalanka miscued Hussain Talat to deep square-leg. Next ball, Dasun Shanaka edged behind to leave his team five down with more than half the overs still to play. From there, Sri Lanka limped to 133 for 8, a total Pakistan chased comfortably.

“Neither Dasun nor I were trying to hit big shots,” Asalanka said after the defeat. “I was just looking for a gap, and he played a normal first-ball stroke. But we have to take responsibility. That was when the biggest damage was done.”

Kamindu Mendis Lone Fighter

Sri Lanka’s innings was only held together by Kamindu Mendis, who scored 50 off 44 balls with support from Wanindu Hasaranga and Chamika Karunaratne. At one stage, it looked like they might reach 150, but Hasaranga’s dismissal came at the wrong time and the momentum slipped again.

“We lost five wickets in the first half of our innings, and against these teams it’s very hard to recover,” Asalanka admitted. “Kamindu and others fought, but losing Wanindu at that stage set us back further. In the end, it wasn’t enough.”

Balancing Act Ahead of the World Cup

Asalanka pointed to team balance as Sri Lanka’s biggest headache. Against Pakistan, they reinforced the bowling by bringing in Karunaratne but sacrificed a specialist batter in Kamil Mishara. The move left them short of runs.

“We’ve had issues with our combinations,” Asalanka said. “Sometimes we play an extra bowler and can’t post enough runs. Other times we pick more batting and then can’t defend. Ahead of the World Cup, we must figure out how to consistently score 180 to 200, and use part-timers like me, Dasun and Kamindu more effectively.”

With two heavy defeats in the Super Four, Sri Lanka’s chances of making the final look slim. But for Asalanka, the bigger picture is clear: fixing the balance now could define their World Cup campaign next year.