Mahela Jayawardena Urges Sri Lanka to Win the T20 World Cup Title

Mahela Jayawardena (PC: Twitter)

Sri Lanka defied the odds and showed glimpses of their vintage aggressive self as they went on to claim their sixth Asia Cup title, whipping Pakistan by 23 runs in the final of the continental tournament on Sunday, September 11 in Dubai.

The Dasun Shanaka-led Lankan enjoyed a fairy tale Asia Cup campaign as they remained unbeaten throughout the Super-4 stage and outsmarted Babar Azam's men in the final to win the Asia Cup title.

With the T20I World Cup a little over a month away, the expectations from the Islanders would have hit a new bar, considering how their Asia Cup 2022 campaign panned out. 

Sri Lanka shouldn’t be looking at anything other than winning the WC: Jayawardena

Weighing in on the same, the former Lankan captain Mahela Jayawardena, in an interaction with The ICC Review, urged Dasun Shanaka's men to shift their focus on winning the T20I World Cup 2022 Down Under. 

Jayawardena feels that the recent victory in Asia Cup will have boosted the confidence of the Sri Lanka team and they shouldn’t be looking at anything other than winning the T20I World Cup title. 

"If they take the confidence of what they achieved in the last (T20) World Cup and then now at the Asia Cup, I think they shouldn’t be looking at anything other than going all the way and winning the World Cup." 

"I mean that’s the attitude to have and this is a group I feel that will play with that no fear and no extra luggage on them either so just go out there and enjoy their cricket and play." 

The former captain further stated that the way Sri Lanka kick off their T20I World Cup campaign next month and how they acclimate to the conditions in Australia will hold the key for the Island nation.

"The start of the World Cup is going to be very crucial for them as they need to get the momentum and get themselves adjusted to the conditions. But I’m very confident that they are capable of doing it." 

Sri Lanka will kick start their T20I World Cup campaign in a round one match against Namibia on October 16. They are also set to play two warm-up games in Melbourne before taking on Namibia in Geelong.  

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