The fault in Sri Lanka's batting stars

2007-14

In the five T20 World Cups played in this time frame, Sri Lanka were the most consistent nation. They had a win percentage of 70.9%, the highest among all sides. 

The Island nation finished in the semi-final stage once and made it to the final thrice, lifting the cup in 2014. Barring the inaugural edition in 2007, they qualified for the knockouts every time. That is a terrific record in a volatile format like T20. 

2016-2024

In the following editions, Sri Lanka’s win percentage in T20 World Cups has fallen to 47.8%, the third-lowest among the current 12 Test-playing nations. They haven’t qualified for the knockout stage once. In the ongoing 2024 edition, they were one of the first teams to be eliminated in the group stage, losing to South Africa and Bangladesh in consecutive matches. 

Unless you have been living under a rock for the past decade, Sri Lanka’s early elimination won’t come as a surprise to you. 

They have consistently been an underwhelming T20 side, even outside the world events. At only 41.1%, they have the lowest win percentage among Test-playing nations in T20Is since 2020, lower than that of Zimbabwe and Ireland. 

They have won only 28 of their 69 matches in this time frame. Even there, they have mostly beaten smaller teams and their record against the stronger nations (India, South Africa, Australia, England) leaves a lot to be desired. Even at home, they had won only seven of their 17 T20Is.

So what has gone wrong in Sri Lankan cricket?

A major part of it boils down to the way they have dealt with the transition phase. Since 2015, the last time Sri Lanka entered a World Cup as the front-runner for the knockout stage, they have been able to assemble a pool of bowlers or some bowling strength. However, the batting has undergone a freefall. 

Since 2016, Sri Lanka average 20.1 in T20Is at a run rate of 7.6, lowest and second-lowest respectively among the Test-playing nations. No batter has turned up as the face of Sri Lanka’s batting. The one who has played most matches in this time frame, Dasun Shanaka, averages 21 at a strike rate of 122.2. The one with most runs, Kusal Mendis, averages 24.7 at a strike rate of 133.8. 

Those with higher averages have modest strike rates and those with higher strike rates are not active anymore. 

These are the numbers when T20 batting is evolving. While other teams are moving forward with power hitters, it seems the better days of Sri Lanka’s batting were left behind in their previous generation. The likes of Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene and Tillakaratne Dilshan were not mean hitters themselves but kept Sri Lanka caught up with the standard numbers of their time. 

Now, Sri Lanka is the only Test-playing nation with their average T20 run rate dropping after 2016. That is the year when Dilshan retired after Sangakkara and Jayawardene had played their last T20Is in 2014. 

Here again, Sri Lanka are poor at home, falling behind the opposition in terms of scoring rate. The difference in average is alarming.

It is no surprise that all five Sri Lankan players who participated in the 2024 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) were specialist bowlers. Wanindu Hasaranga, who withdrew, was also picked primarily for his leg-spin. Bhanuka Rajapaksha played in the 2023 edition but has boiled off the radar lacking consistency. 

The low-scoring World Cup further exposed the Sri Lankan batters. They were bowled out for 77 in their first match against South Africa. In return, South Africa took 16.2 overs and four wickets to get over the line. If Sri Lankan batters had scored 110 or 120, it could have been a different game. Against Bangladesh, they collapsed from 100/3 to finish at 124/9. 

Kicking off the tournament in the extremely bowling-friendly conditions of the USA wasn’t ideal for Sri Lanka. Playing their only match in slightly better batting conditions in St Lucia, the Sri Lankan batters pummelled the Netherlands bowlers to put 201 on the board, their highest World Cup total since 2010. They scored their highest aggregate in the last five overs of a World Cup innings — 77. 

This is the flavor that Sri Lankan cricket has missed for a long time in their T20 setup. Such instances are too far and few in between when Sri Lanka have batted their opposition out of the game. The instability in administration is another key factor in the downfall of Sri Lankan cricket but on the field, they need to start producing some batters as much as they produce unorthodox bowlers. 

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