Chamari Athapaththu, the Sri Lankan captain, has been grappling with questions about her team’s batting struggles after disappointing performances against Pakistan and Australia in the ongoing Women’s T20 World Cup. Despite a historic series win against England and an Asia Cup triumph, Sri Lanka now faces elimination.
Athapaththu has been under scrutiny for her low scores of three and six in the recent matches. She acknowledges the challenging conditions in Sharjah but emphasizes the need for adaptation and fearless cricket. “We can’t blame anyone. I ask myself why I can’t play,” she said.
The Sri Lankan batters have struggled to make an impact, with only Nilakshika Silva managing scores of 23 and 29. Athapaththu has sought advice from her teammates, particularly those with experience in adapting to different conditions.
“I talked to a few batters, and because they have good experience, I said to them: ‘if Tazmin Brits can play, if Laura can play, why can’t we play?'” she said. “We have to rethink, and adaptation is most important.”
Athapaththu admires the way England’s Nat Sciver-Brunt and South Africa’s Laura Wolvaardt have played in the tournament. She believes that Sri Lanka can emulate their success by playing with confidence and focusing on one ball at a time.
“We have to play fearless cricket. And the most important thing is one ball at a time. If we take too much pressure on our shoulders, if we take too much information, it’s too hard to play cricket,” she said.
Athapaththu has fond memories of her previous encounter with India, where she scored a 43-ball 61 in Sri Lanka’s historic Asia Cup chase. However, she admits that indecision has hampered her game and hopes to play more aggressively.
“I just want to play my natural game freely,” she said.
Despite India’s own batting struggles, Athapaththu believes that Sri Lanka has nothing to lose. “We are going with the underdog tag all the time. So we [want to] keep it simple and I want to play my best cricket and fearless cricket all the time,” she said.
