On 17 March 2022, Sri Lanka is celebrating 26 years of its first and only ICC Cricket World Cup win. Man of the Series Sanath Jayasuriya in the 1996 World Cup gave a piece of his mind to the ‘youths’ of the current Sri Lankan team.
Recalling his memories of the glorious past, he also expressed dissatisfaction over the fact that Sri Lankans are still talking about the same World Cup and the present Sri Lankan team should win the World Cup.
Jayasuriya wrote on Twitter, “It’s been 26 years since winning the World Cup, while looking back makes me feel so proud and happy, plus it makes me sad that we can still do the same thing.”
The former Sri Lankan captain concluded with the hashtag #makesrilankacricketgreatagain, “It’s time for the youth to win the World Cup. Don’t talk about winning.”
It’s been 26 years since I won the World Cup and looking back it feels so proud and happy, plus it makes me sad that this is the only thing we can still talk about. It’s time for the youth to win the World Cup. Don’t talk about winning! #makesrilankacricketgreatagain
— Sanath Jayasuriya (@Sanath07) 17 March 2022
Sanath Jayasuriya had scored 221 runs and took 7 wickets in the 1996 World Cup, which earned him the Man of the Series award. Jayasuriya played at a strike rate of 131 in that World Cup at a time when T20 was not invented. Sanath Jayasuriya, along with Kaluwitharn, was the real inventor of quick runs in the power-play.
Sri Lanka failed to win a single match on their tour of India. They have been losing matches in a spree in recent times. Except for the West Indies Test series, Sri Lanka failed to make an impact in any other series.