The Sri Lanka men’s national cricket team returned to the nation today after having been eliminated in the first round of the ICC T20 Cricket World Cup.

Speaking to reporters upon their return, Sri Lanka Skipper Wanindu Hasaranga responded to queries on social media posts criticizing the cricket team for their poor performance in the tournament. 

Hasaranga said that some cricketers were also behind the criticism shared on social media platforms against the current team. 

“We know who is behind these posts. There are some people who create pages and post such criticisms just to obtain a higher reach on social media. There are also some cricketers behind this. We cannot do anything about social media,” he added.

Acknowledging that the fans had been let down in this tournament, Hasaranga said the team acknowledged that mistakes on their part had led to their exit from the tournament. 

Hasaranga further said the team is looking at addressing their shortfalls and improving their performance to provide justice to their fans. (Newswire)

“We didn’t play well, and that’s why we lost matches. I don’t want to talk about social media. We know that even some cricketers were behind these social media attacks.” – Wanindu Hasaranga pic.twitter.com/plCqzMEp6I

— NewsWire (@NewsWireLK) June 19, 2024

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Bangladesh Head Coach Chandika Hathurusingha has commended his team for strategically facing Sri Lanka, especially star bowler Wanindu Hasaranga, in the first ODI played yesterday.

Najmul Hossain Shanto’s career-best unbeaten 122 powered Bangladesh to a six-wicket win in the first ODI in Chattogram.

Mushfiqur Rahim struck the boundary that broke the shackles in the 33rd over when he reverse-swept Hasaranga before slog-sweeping him for successive fours.

Commending Mahmudullah Riyad’s performance, Coach Chandika Hathurusingha said he was pleased with the way he treated Sri Lanka’s best bowler from the second ball.

“What I liked is the way you treat Hasaranga, Sri Lanka’s best bowler, from the second ball. You really put him back in his place. Showing that we are coming with intent. This is the character we want to see. You hit the main guy on the other side. You didn’t allow him to come into the game,” Coach Hathurusingha said. 

He made the remarks during a chat with the Bangladesh team in the dressing room following the victory against Sri Lanka. 

Sri Lanka will take on Bangladesh in the second match of the three-match series in Chattogram on Friday, March 15, 2024. (NewsWire)

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The fallout from Sri Lanka’s narrow defeat to Afghanistan continues, with captain Wanindu Hasaranga now facing disciplinary action from the International Cricket Council (ICC) for his criticism of umpire Lindal Hannibal over the controversial call in the final over.

According to reports, Hannibal lodged a complaint with the match referee regarding Hasaranga’s conduct.

Hasaranga’s conduct has resulted in a Level 2 charge against him under the ICC Code of Conduct.

With two demerit points already accrued from previous offences, Hasaranga could face a suspension of two or more T20I matches, if found guilty.

The ICC has yet to officially announce the specific charges, but the potential consequences are significant for the Sri Lankan skipper. (NewsWire)

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Sri Lanka star cricketer Wanindu Hasaranga has expressed disappointment in missing the 2023 ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup due to an injury. 

Speaking during an interview, Hasaranga revealed that his injury had prevented his participation, eventually having required to undergo surgery. 

“Many had claimed that I had injured myself during the Lanka Premier League, While, many had also alleged that I did not want to play for Sri Lanka,” he revealed.

The cricketer refuted the various claims, stating that he had been picked as the World Number One in T20 cricket as he had played for the country. 

“I recovered from the injury I sustained in the LPL. However, two weeks before the World Cup, I injured myself again while sprinting as part of my fitness routine. I sustained a muscle sprain at the LPL. That muscle tore when I was preparing for the World Cup, resulting in surgery,” he explained.

Stating that doctors, including those overseas, had recommended a 12-week recovery period for the injury, Hasaranga said this had resulted in him missing the World Cup.

Commenting on his recovery after surgery, the cricketer said it is nearly 5 weeks since undergoing the surgery.

“I have been given a 12-week recovery period. I have already commenced the rehabilitation work, while my Gym sessions also commenced this week. I will commence slow jogging next week. I hope to return to the field after completing my recovery,” he revealed.

Hasaranga further said that he had been walking with the assistance of a brace and clutches for nearly 3 weeks after the surgery, adding that he has been able to walk on his own over the last two weeks. 

The cricketer further said that practices and rehabilitation work concerning sprinting, bowling and batting will commence after 6 weeks of his recovery.

Wanindu Hasaranga also revealed that his recovery and rehabilitation work are based on the weekly protocol sent by the doctor who conducted his surgery. 

The cricketer is targeting his return in January when Sri Lanka plays Zimbabwe next year. (NewsWire)

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Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) has accepted Sri Lanka Men’s all-rounder Wanindu Hasaranga’s request to retire from test cricket.

The SLC stated that informing his decision, Hasaranga revealed the reason behind the move is to prolong his career as a limited-overs specialist. 

“We will accept his decision and are confident that Hasaranga will be a vital part of our white-ball program going forward,” said Ashley De Silva, CEO of Sri Lanka Cricket. 

Earlier, NewsWire reported that Wanindu Hasaranga has made the decision to retire from Test cricket while expressing his commitment to continuing his career in white-ball formats.

In a letter reportedly addressed to Sri Lanka Cricket, Hasaranga cited his desire to focus on limited-overs cricket and contribute his best to the national team.

Wanindu Hasaranga has played four test matches for Sri Lanka; however, the 26-year-old all-rounder has represented the country in 48 one-day internationals and 58 T20I games. (NewsWire)

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Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) has denied ‘No Objection Certificates’ (NOC) to Sri Lankan cricketers Dasun Shanaka and Wanindu Hasaranga for their participation in an overseas cricket league. 

Sri Lanka’s limited-over skipper Dasun Shanaka and star bowler Wanindu Hasaranga had requested for NOCs to participate in the inaugural edition of the United States T20 League.

Shanaka was picked by Seattle Orcas while Washington Freedom signed up star spinner Hasaranga for the inaugural edition of the Major League T20 tournament which will be played between July 13 and 30 at Grand Prairie Stadium in Texas. 

According to the Sunday Times, SLC’s Chief Executive Ashley de Silva stated that the NOCs were denied following the Board’s decision to allow only two foreign league appearances for Sri Lankan players.

Ashley de Silva stated that the SLC has decided to allow only four leagues per year including Sri Lanka’s two leagues–Lanka Premier League (LPL) and the proposed T10 League. 

Dasun Shanaka represented the Gujarat Titans in the Indian Premier League (IPL), the Peshawar Zalmi in the Pakistan Super League (PSL), and the Dubai Capitals at the International League T20 (ILT20), making it three foreign leagues for the year.

On the other hand, Wanindu Hasaranga has already done two leagues, having represented Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in the IPL and the Desert Vipers at the ILT20. (NewsWire)

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Afghanistan leg-spinner Rashid Khan has moved back to the top of the MRF Tyres ICC Men’s T20I Player Rankings after leading his side to a 2-1 series victory over Pakistan in Sharjah.

Rashid, who took a wicket each in the three matches conceding a total of 62 runs off his 12 overs, has overtaken Sri Lanka’s Wanindu Hasaranga to take the top position among bowlers. Rashid grabbed the top spot for the first time in his career in February 2018 and was number one most recently in November last year.

Mujeeb Ur Rehman, who grabbed two wickets each in the first and third matches, is another Afghanistan spinner to move up, from 10th to eighth position, while fast bowler Fazalhaq Farooqi’s five wickets in the series see him climb 12 places to a career-best third position. In the batting rankings, Ibrahim Zadran is up four places to 41st and Mohammad Nabi has progressed from 63rd to 58th position.

Pakistan’s Imad Wasim, who struck an unbeaten 64 in the second match, has re-entered the batting rankings in 67th position while captain Shadab Khan’s Player of the Match effort of three for 13 in the third match has lifted him six places to 12th among bowlers. Mohammad Wasim is another Pakistan player to move up the bowling rankings, from 32nd to 23rd position.

South Africa batters Rilee Rossouw (up two places to sixth) and Reeza Hendricks (up eight places to 12th) have also moved up the rankings while West Indies batter Johnston Charles is up 92 places to 17th after smashing 118 off 46 in the second match in Centurion that saw South Africa achieve a record target of 259 to win the match.

In the ODI rankings, Australia leg-spinner Adam Zampa has moved up three places to a career best sixth position after his match-winning haul of four for 45 in the third game against India in Chennai while Player of the Series Mitchell Marsh has gained fours slots to reach 51st position among batters with an aggregate of 194 runs in the series. Alex Carey (up two places to 21st among batters) and Pat Cummins (up two places to 16th among bowlers) are other Australia players to advance.

India captain Rohit Sharma has inched up one place to eighth and all-rounder Hardik Pandya is up 10 places to 76th among bowlers in the latest update that takes into consideration performances in the Chennai ODI, the last two Zimbabwe versus Netherlands matches, the third Bangladesh versus Ireland match and the first three matches of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup Qualifier Play-off in Windhoek, Namibia.

Bangladesh captain Tamim Iqbal (up two places to 20th), Namibia captain Gerhard Erasmus (up two places to 36th) and USA player Aaron Jones (up three places to 49th) are among those to make headway in the batting rankings while Namibia spinner Bernard Scholtz (up two places to 25th), USA left-arm seam bowler Saurabh Netravalkar (up five places to 27th) and Zimbabwe fast bowler Blessing Muzarbani (up five places to 54th) are among those to advance in the bowling rankings. (ICC)

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