‘Same Mistakes Again’: Kumar Sangakkara Rips Into Sri Lanka After Early Exit

Kumar Sangakkara criticised Sri Lanka after their 107 all-out chase against New Zealand ended their T20 World Cup 2026 campaign, urging major changes.

Sri Lanka’s T20 World Cup 2026 campaign ended on Wednesday after a heavy defeat to New Zealand in Colombo. Chasing 169 at the R. Premadasa Stadium, the hosts collapsed for 107 and suffered their second straight Super 8 loss. The result made them the first team eliminated at this stage.

Kumar Sangakkara expressed his disappointment following the exit. Sri Lanka has now missed the semi-finals in five consecutive editions since winning the title in 2014. He stressed the need for major changes across all levels. He warned that failure to adapt to the modern game could push Sri Lanka further behind other international sides.

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“There is a lot of hurt all round. The fans are devastated, disappointed, angry. The players are hurting badly too. I have been in similar dressing rooms. It’s not easy,” he wrote on the social media platform X.

“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,” Sangakkara added.

There is a lot of hurt all round. The fans devastated , disappointed , angry. The players are hurting badly too. I have been in similar dressing rooms. It’s not easy. But this responsibility comes with the turf. It’s a burden and a great privilege to represent your country and

— Kumar Sangakkara (@KumarSanga2) February 26, 2026

Notably, Sri Lanka showed uneven form in the T20 World Cup 2026. They secured one group-stage win against Australia but fell to Zimbabwe in their final group match. Even so, they entered the Super 8 as the second-placed team. However, Sri Lanka failed in both Super 8 games. In one chase of 145 against England, they collapsed to 95 in 16.4 overs.