Sri Lanka has won one game and lost two out of the three they have played.
Chamari Athapaththu, Sri Lanka's women’s captain, has taken the blame as her team stares at the exit from the ongoing ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2026. This comes after their poor outing against the West Indies, where they lost the game by 5 wickets.
Sri Lanka batted first after losing the toss and were bowled out for 98 runs, with Nilakshika Silva top-scoring with 30. The West Indies did lose 5 wickets in the chase but won the game comfortably with Stafanie Taylor scoring 27*.
After the game, Chamari Athapaththu said she feels like "a failure as a captain" as Sri Lanka stares at an early exit from the T20 World Cup. To have any hope of making it to the last four, they now need to win their next two tournament games and rely on other outcomes.
"Actually, it’s a sadness beyond words. I think I played around 18 years for the national team, and I could never get a chance to take my team into a semifinal of a World Cup. Even though I have achieved many things personally, I think I’m a failure as a captain because I think that’s a big pain for a player.
Actually, now I have to be with that pain. I think I tried my best; I think I should have played more responsibly, and if I had, we could have won this match today. So, I regret that. Especially, I don’t like to blame anyone, and I think I have more responsibility as a player, as the captain of the team, and as a player with more experience,” Chamari told the media after the game, as quoted by the ICC website.
There is still hope for Sri Lanka, as their remaining two fixtures are against Ireland and Scotland, and they can still progress if they win by big margins. However, Sri Lanka will still need other results to go their way, as England and the West Indies currently occupy the top two spots in their group.
Regarding her intention to represent the team at the upcoming T20 World Cup in Pakistan in 2028, Chamari remained silent.
"So, I’m very sad; I feel like I lost my last chance. For now, I can’t give any explanation about that because of my age; now I’m 36 years old. So, with fitness and all, that’s being decided. So, I try my best to keep my physical fitness at a good level and to keep my skills at a high level. If the team wants, I will play in the future, but with my performance level and fitness level, it will be decided whether I play or not,” Chamari stated.