Sri Lanka captain Chamari Athapaththu has blamed herself for the side's crushing defeat against West Indies in the Women's T20I World Cup match on Sunday in Bristol. After being asked to bat, Sri Lanka went through a harrowing period, losing wickets in a heap as they were bundled out for 98 in 19.4 overs. Nilakshi de Silva was the only batter, who top-scored with a brilliant 30 to stage a fightback for a brief period. Meanwhile, the defeat leaves Sri Lanka in a difficult position in their bid to make it to the semifinal. To overcome this disappointing loss and revive their hopes for the semi-final, Sri Lanka will now need to win their last two match by huge margins.
"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 semi-final 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 big pain for a player. Actually, now I have to be with that pain," Chamari Athapaththu said, as quoted by ESPNcricinfo.
So far, it's been a turbulent World Cup for Sri Lanka, having started their campaign with a defeat against the hosts England. However they bounced back nicely with a thumping win over New Zealand. But, their latest defeat has put them in danger of missing out on a semi-final berth.
"I think I tried my best, I think I should have played more responsible than this and if I have played more responsible than this today, 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. So, I'm very sad, I feel like I lost my last chance."
When asked about her presence at the 2028 World Cup, to be held in Pakistan, Chamari Athapaththu did not elaborate much and said she is now 36 years old and will keep focusing on her fitness.
"For now, I can't give any explanation about that, because with 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 in a good level, and to keep my skills in 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 if I play or not," she added.