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Sri Lanka rethink Charith Asalanka’s captaincy just before 2026 T20 World Cup

Aakash Saini

Charith Asalanka [Source: AFP]Charith Asalanka [Source: AFP]

Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) is considering to move on from Charith Asalanka as national T20I captain, doing so mere months prior to the launch of the 2026 ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup in India and Sri Lanka. It is worth noting that Asalanka has not been in the best of form off late, as the cricketer has managed to list just 156 runs in 12 T20I innings for Sri Lanka this year so far at a below par average of 15.60.

Under his leadership, Sri Lanka also failed to reach the final of the 2025 T20 Asia Cup in the UAE a couple of months ago. With Sri Lanka facing Zimbabwe and hosts Pakistan in a T20I tri-series at the moment, Charith Asalanka was released from the squad prior to the opening match itself, albeit due to “illness”.

Tharanga mulls Asalanka’s captaincy, but batter still in T20 World Cup plans

In regards to the T20I captaincy of struggling batter Charith Asalanka, Sri Lanka chief selector and former cricketer Upul Tharanga stated that the selectors and the team management are currently weighing their “best options”, but also admitted that the team cannot afford any “big changes” considering a T20 World Cup is on the horizon.

As quoted by ESPNCricinfo, Tharanga, however, affirmed that Charith Asalanka is still Sri Lanka’s T20I captain for the time being and the batter had to leave the Pakistan tri-series only due to an illness, prompting the team management to re-appoint Dasun Shanaka as national skipper. He also added that the cricketer is also in Sri Lanka’s 2026 T20 World Cup plans, at least as a player.

The chief selector confirmed that the panel has not made any decision yet regarding a possible captaincy change, but left the decision hanging as he said:

“We'll see what happens.”

Charith Asalanka was appointed as Sri Lanka’s T20I captain last year. So far, he has led Sri Lanka in 25 T20I matches, winning 11 of them at an expense of 14 defeats, including two losses in Super Overs that stemmed from thrilling tied affairs against Team India.

As of now, it remains to be seen if SLC will continue to persist with Charith Asalanka amid his form and captaincy, as well as health struggles.