Star Sri Lankan player apologises to entire nation after team's exit from T20 World Cup 2024

Sri Lanka star cricketer Angelo Mathews comes up with an apology after his side suffered an early exit from the T20 World Cup 2024. Notably, Bangladesh's win over the Netherlands' in St. Vincent knocked them out of the marquee event. Speaking about their matches, the side lost their opening match to the Aiden Markram-led South African side in New York, while they suffered a defeat against Bangladesh in Dallas. However, their game against Nepal in Florida was washed out due to heavy rainfall. Their early exit from the ongoing marquee event means it has been a decade since they reached the semi-finals of the T20 World Cup.

Angelo Mathews said that they have let the entire nation down, which they would also not have expected. The star all-rounder claimed that their side has faced a lot of battles and struggles during the ongoing journey, but it was unfortunate for them to make it to the second round of the game. The side is now set to face the Netherlands in the next game. The Colombo-born star is looking to get his first win in the ongoing event. However, he feels that the Netherlands also seems to be in great form, and they can't take any team lightly.

"We've let the entire nation down and we are really sorry because we've let ourselves down. We never expected this. We came across a lot of challenges but those are not something to worry about. It's unfortunate that we didn't make the second round. We can't take any given team lightly," Mathews said.

We haven't done justice to ourselves, especially the way we played in the first two games: Mathews

The 37-year-old further revealed that they haven't done justice to them since they went on to produce a horrendous show in the game against South Africa and Bangladesh, respectively, which put them on the brink of elimination. In addition, the middle-order batter is truly heartbroken owing to the way their side suffered defeat.

"We haven't done justice to ourselves, especially the way we played in the first two games, so it's very unfortunate. We are heartbroken, and we are hurting so much within ourselves. But it's another day tomorrow and then we have to come up against the Netherlands, and the Netherlands are a very, very dangerous team. So, we hope to play well and beat them," he added further.

Meanwhile, Sri Lanka made it to the T20 World Cup 2024 after their three back-to-back T20I series wins since December. The side has recently won the series against Zimbabwe, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh, which bolstered the preparation for the T20 World Cup in 2024.

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