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AFC Asian Cup Qualifiers final round concluded without a victory for Sri Lanka!!!
This is the first time that Sri Lanka is qualified for the AFC Asian Cup 2023 final round qualification by qualifying through 2 rounds starting from 2019.
In the first round draw, Sri Lanka had to face Macau in 2019 May and June as the first match of this journey. This match was scheduled to be played as two leagues match in 2019 May and like the first match in FIFA World Cup 2022 and AFC Asian Cup 2023 preliminary round joint qualification.
Sri Lanka lose the first leg Match with Macau 1 – 0 and the second leg match is scheduled to be played in June 2019, but the Macue team is rejected to participate in the Sri Lankan home soil match quoting the safety of the players due to the Easter bomb attack. Therefore, Sri Lanka was awarded a win of 3 – 0 against Macau. In aggregated points of 3 – 1, Sri Lanka got through to the second round of FIFA World Cup 2022 and AFC Asian Cup 2023.
This round was very competitive for Sri Lanka because this is a very hard group which includes the following countries.
South Korea –29th position in the FIFA ranking
DPR Korea – 109th position in the FIFA ranking
Lebanon – 97th position in the FIFA ranking
Turkmenistan – 134th position in the FIFA ranking
Where Sri Lanka was 206th in the FIFA Ranking.
This round is also played as the home and away rounds, Sri Lanka played the following matches on home soil but unfortunately, Sri Lanka did not score a goal in all three matches.
Sri Lanka vs Turkmenistan – 0 – 2
Sri Lanka vs Lebanon – 0 – 3
Sri Lanka vs DPR Korea – 0 – 1 (This was cancelled due to the withdrawal of DPR Korea)
Sri Lanka played another match against South Korea in Seoul and it cost 8 goals for Sri Lanka again, unfortunately, Sri Lanka did not score a goal.
Other matches of the round were got postponed due to the Covid 19 outbreak to 2021 June at a centralized location in South Korea. Meanwhile, DPR Korea informed that they have decided to withdraw from the competition for internal issues. That led AFC and FIFA to decide to remove all the match results that DPR Korea played as null and avoid.
In between that, the Football Federation of Sri Lanka decided to remove the coaching panel due to the poor performance shown by the team and bring down an international coach who had a UEFA Pro coaching licence to build the team.
Bostian nation Mr Amir Alagic got appointed as the head coach and he was able to do some groundwork for this team to prepare for the future games of round 2. After his appointment, Sir Lanka played two matches and his 1st match was against Lebanon played in South Korea. In this match, Sri Lanka started very positively scoring the first goal of the tournament by the Waseem Razeek and lost the match in a marginal way 3 – 2.
The second match is against South Korea, unfortunately, Sri Lanka conceded 5 goals but it was a well-improved performance because in the first leg Sri Lanka conceded 8 goals against the same opponent.
Due to the unavailability of the DPR Korea, Sri Lanka got an opportunity to end the table in the 4th position and qualified for the final round of the AFC Asian Cup 2023.
In the AFC Asian Cup, 2023 qualification final round Sri Lanka fall into group C with Uzbekistan, Thailand and Maldives and it was kicked off on 6th June 2022 in Uzbekistan.
The host Uzbekistan dominated the entire match and easily scored three goals against Sri Lanka and won the match
| Data | Uzbekistan | Sri Lanka |
| Possession | 76% | 24% |
| Shots | 28 | 2 |
| Cards | 0 | 0 |
| Corners | 16 | 0 |
| Fouls | 6 | 7 |
| Offsides | 1 | 0 |
| xG | 3.71 | 0.34 |
The second match of the group was against Thailand and Sri Lanka showed a well-improved performance when compared to the previous match but unfortunately, Thailand scored 2 goals and win the match
| Data | Sri Lanka | Thailand |
| Possession | 50% | 50% |
| Shots | 2 | 25 |
| Cards | 0 | 0 |
| Corners | 2 | 9 |
| Fouls | 7 | 9 |
| Offsides | 0 | 3 |
| xG | 0.29 | 2.99 |
The third match of the group was against the Maldives and Sri Lanka showed a balanced performance when compared to the previous two matches but unfortunately, Maldives scored a goal and win the match.
In a summary, Sri Lanka did not win a match in this series as well.
| Team | MP | Win | GF | GA | GD | AVG | |
| 1 | Uzbekistan | 2 | 100% | 7 | 0 | 7 | 3.50 |
| 2 | Thailand | 2 | 100% | 5 | 0 | 5 | 2.50 |
| 3 | Maldives | 3 | 33% | 1 | 5 | -4 | 2.50 |
| 4 | Sri Lanka | 3 | 0% | 0 | 8 | -8 | 3.50 |
AFC ආසියානු කුසලාන සුදුසුකම් ලැබීමේ අවසන් වටය ශ්රී ලංකාවට ජයකින් තොරව නිමා වේ!!!
AFC Asian Cup 2023 අවසන් වටයට ශ්රී ලංකාව සුදුසුකම් ලැබූ පළමු අවස්ථාව මෙයයි.
පළමු වටයේ දිනුම් ඇදීමේ දී ශ්රී ලංකාවට මෙම ගමනේ පළමු තරගය ලෙස 2019 මැයි සහ ජුනි මාසවලදී මැකාවු සමඟ මුහුණ දීමට සිදුවිය. මෙම තරඟය 2019 මැයි මාසයේදී ලීග් තරඟ දෙකක් ලෙස ක්රීඩා කිරීමට නියමිතව තිබූ අතර FIFA ලෝක කුසලාන 2022 සහ AFC ආසියානු කුසලාන 2023 මූලික වටයේ ඒකාබද්ධ සුදුසුකම් වල පළමු තරඟය මෙන්.
Macau vs Sri Lanka පළමු අදියරේ තරගය 1 – 0 ලෙස පරාජය වන අතර දෙවන අදියර 2019 ජුනි මාසයේදී පැවැත්වීමට නියමිත නමුත් Macue කණ්ඩායම ශ්රී ලංකා මව්බිමේ තරඟයට සහභාගී වීම ප්රතික්ෂේප කරන්නේ ක්රීඩකයන්ගේ ආරක්ෂාව පාස්කු බෝම්බ ප්රහාරය හේතුවෙනි. ඒ අනුව මැකාවු පිලට එරෙහිව 3-0ක ජයක් ශ්රී ලංකාවට හිමිවිය. 3 – 1 සමස්ථ ලකුණු අනුව, ශ්රී ලංකාව 2022 FIFA ලෝක කුසලානය සහ 2023 AFC ආසියානු කුසලානය සඳහා සුදුසුකම් ලැබීමේ දෙවන වටයට පිවිසියේය.
මෙම වටය ශ්රී ලංකාවට ඉතා තරඟකාරී වූයේ ඉතා දුෂ්කර කණ්ඩායමක් වන බැවිනි.
South Korea –29th position in the FIFA ranking
DPR Korea – 109th position in the FIFA ranking
Lebanon – 97th position in the FIFA ranking
Turkmenistan – 134th position in the FIFA ranking
Where Sri Lanka was 206th in the FIFA Ranking.
මෙම වටය ගෘහස්ත සහ පිටත වට ලෙසද ක්රීඩා කරන අතර, ශ්රී ලංකාව පහත සඳහන් තරඟ මව්බිමේදී ක්රීඩා කළ නමුත් අවාසනාවකට ශ්රී ලංකාව තරඟ තුනේදීම ගෝලයක් වාර්තා කළේ නැත.
Sri Lanka vs Turkmenistan – 0 – 2
Sri Lanka vs Lebanon – 0 – 3
Sri Lanka vs DPR Korea – 0 – 1 (This was cancelled due to the withdrawal of DPR Korea)
ශ්රී ලංකාව දකුණු කොරියාවට එරෙහිව සෝල්හිදී තවත් තරගයක් ක්රීඩා කළ අතර ශ්රී ලංකාවට නැවතත් ගෝල 8ක් වැය වූ අතර අවාසනාවන්ත ලෙස ශ්රී ලංකාව ගෝලයක් වාර්තා කළේ නැත.
කොවිඩ් 19 පැතිරීම හේතුවෙන් වටයේ අනෙකුත් තරඟ 2021 ජුනි දක්වා දකුණු කොරියාවේ මධ්යගත ස්ථානයකදී කල් තබන ලදී. මේ අතර අභ්යන්තර ගැටළු සඳහා තරඟයෙන් ඉවත් වීමට තීරණය කර ඇති බව DPR Korea දන්වා සිටියේය. DPR කොරියාව විසින් ක්රීඩා කළ සියලුම තරඟ ප්රතිඵල ශුන්ය සහ වළක්වා ගැනීමට AFC සහ FIFA තීරණය කිරීමට එය හේතු විය.
ඒ අතර ශ්රී ලංකා පාපන්දු සම්මේලනය තීරණය කළේ කණ්ඩායම දැක්වූ දුර්වල දස්කම් හේතුවෙන් පුහුණුකරු මණ්ඩලය ඉවත් කර කණ්ඩායම ගොඩනැගීම සඳහා UEFA Pro පුහුණු බලපත්රයක් ඇති ජාත්යන්තර පුහුණුකරුවෙකු ගෙන්වා ගැනීමටයි.
Bostian ජාතියේ Amir Alagic මහතා ප්රධාන පුහුණුකරු ලෙස පත් කරන ලද අතර, ඔහු මෙම කණ්ඩායමට 2 වන වටයේ අනාගත තරඟ සඳහා සූදානම් වීම සඳහා යම් මූලික වැඩ කොටසක් කිරීමට සමත් විය. ඔහුගේ පත්වීමෙන් පසු ශ්රී ලංකාව තරඟ දෙකක් ක්රීඩා කළ අතර ඔහුගේ පළමු තරඟය ලෙබනනයට එරෙහිව ක්රීඩා කළේය දකුණු කොරියාවේ. මෙම තරඟයේදී වසීම් රසීක් විසින් තරඟාවලියේ පළමු ගෝලය වාර්තා කරමින් ශ්රී ලංකාව ඉතා ධනාත්මකව ආරම්භ කළ අතර තරඟය 3-2ක් ලෙස අන්ත පරාජයකට පත්විය.
දෙවන තරඟය දකුණු කොරියාවට එරෙහිව, අවාසනාවකට මෙන්, ශ්රී ලංකාව ගෝල 5ක් ලබා දුන් නමුත් එය හොඳ දියුණු තරගයක් ලබා දුන්නේ පළමු අදියරේදී ශ්රී ලංකාව එම ප්රතිවාදියාට ගෝල 8 ක් ලබා දුන් බැවිනි.
DPR Korea නොමැති වීම හේතුවෙන් ශ්රී ලංකාව 4 වන ස්ථානයෙන් ලකුණු සටහන අවසන් කිරීමට අවස්ථාවක් ලබා ගත් අතර AFC Asian Cup 2023 අවසන් වටයේ 3 වන වටයට සුදුසුකම් ලබා ගත්තේය.
AFC ආසියානු කුසලාන 2023 සුදුසුකම් ලැබීමේ අවසන් වටයේදී ශ්රී ලංකාව උස්බෙකිස්තානය, තායිලන්තය සහ මාලදිවයින සමඟ C කාණ්ඩයට වැටෙන අතර එය 2022 ජුනි 6 වන දින උස්බෙකිස්තානයේදී ආරම්භ විය.
සත්කාරක උස්බෙකිස්තානය සමස්ත තරගයේ ආධිපත්යය දැරූ අතර ශ්රී ලංකාවට එරෙහිව පහසුවෙන් ගෝල තුනක් ලබා ගනිමින් තරගය ජය ගැනීමට සමත් විය.
කාණ්ඩයේ දෙවැනි තරගය තායිලන්තයට එරෙහිව පැවැති අතර පෙර තරගයට සාපේක්ෂව ශ්රී ලංකාව හොඳ දස්කම් දැක්වූ නමුත් අවාසනාවන්ත ලෙස තායිලන්තය ගෝල 2ක් ලබා තරගය ජය ගත්තේය.
කාණ්ඩයේ තෙවැනි තරගය මාලදිවයිනට එරෙහිව පැවැති අතර පෙර තරග දෙකට සාපේක්ෂව ශ්රී ලංකාව සමබර දස්කම් දැක්වූ නමුත් අවාසනාවන්ත ලෙස මාලදිවයින ගෝලයක් වාර්තා කර තරගය ජය ගත්තේය.
සාරාංශයක් ලෙස ශ්රී ලංකාව මෙම තරගමාලාවේ ද තරගයක්වත් ජය ගත්තේ නැත.
AFC ஆசியக் கிண்ணத் தகுதி இறுதிச் சுற்று இலங்கைக்கு வெற்றியின்றி நிறைவு!
2019 ஆம் ஆண்டு தொடக்கம் 2 சுற்றுகள் மூலம் இலங்கை அணி AFC ஆசியக் கிண்ண 2023 இறுதிச் சுற்றுத் தகுதிப் போட்டிக்கு தகுதி பெறுவது இதுவே முதல் தடவையாகும்.
முதல் சுற்று டிராவில், இலங்கை மே மற்றும் ஜூன் 2019 இல் சுற்றுப்பயணத்தின் முதல் போட்டியில் மக்காவை எதிர்கொண்டது. இந்த போட்டி மே 2019 இல் துடங்கி இரண்டு லீக்குகளில் விளையாட திட்டமிடப்பட்டது, அத்துடன் FIFA உலகக் கோப்பை 2022 மற்றும் AFC ஆசிய கோப்பை 2023 ஆரம்ப சுற்று தகுதிச் சுற்றுக்கான முதல் போட்டியாக நடந்தது.
Macau vs Sri Lanka முதல் லெக்கை 1-0 என்ற கணக்கில் இலங்கைக்கு இழக்க நேரிட்டது, இரண்டாவது லெக் ஜூன் 2019 இல் விளையாடப்பட இருந்தாலும் வீரர்களின் பாதுகாப்புக் காரணமாக Macue இலங்கை தாயகத்தில் விளையாட மறுத்தது. அதற்கமைய மக்காவுக்கு எதிரான ஆட்டத்தில் இலங்கை அணிக்கு 3-0 என்ற கோல் கணக்கில் வெற்றி அளிக்கப்பட்டது. ஒட்டுமொத்தமாக, இலங்கை 3 – 1 என்ற கோல் அடிப்படையில் 2022 FIFA உலகக் கோப்பை மற்றும் 2023 AFC ஆசிய கோப்பையின் இரண்டாவது சுற்றுக்கு முன்னேறியது.
மிகவும் கடினமான குழுவாக இருந்ததால் இந்த சுற்று இலங்கைக்கு மிகவும் போட்டியாக இருந்தது.
South Korea –29th position in the FIFA ranking
DPR Korea – 109th position in the FIFA ranking
Lebanon – 97th position in the FIFA ranking
Turkmenistan – 134th position in the FIFA ranking
Where Sri Lanka was 206th in the FIFA Ranking.
இலங்கை பின்வரும் போட்டிகளை சொந்த மண்ணில் விளையாடியது ஆனால் துரதிஷ்டவசமாக மூன்று போட்டிகளிலும் இலங்கை எந்த ஒரு கோலும் அடிக்கவில்லை. Sri Lanka vs Turkmenistan – 0 – 2
Sri Lanka vs Lebanon – 0 – 3
Sri Lanka vs DPR Korea – 0 – 1 (This was cancelled due to the withdrawal of DPR Korea)
தென் கொரியாவுக்கு எதிராக சியோலில் இலங்கை அணி மற்றுமொரு போட்டியில் விளையாடியதுடன் தென் கொரியா 8 கோல்களை அடித்ததுடன் துரதிஷ்டவசமாக இலங்கை கோல் எதுவும் அடிக்கவில்லை.
கோவிட் 19 பரவல் காரணமாக மிகுதி அணைத்து போட்டிகளும் தென் கொரியாவின் மைய இடத்தில் ஜூன் 2021 க்கு வரையில் ஒத்திவைக்கப்பட்டுள்ளன. இதற்கிடையில் உள்நாட்டு பிரச்சனைகள் காரணமாக போட்டியில் இருந்து விலக முடிவு செய்துள்ளதாக DPR கொரியா தெரிவித்துள்ளது.
இதற்கிடையில், இலங்கை கால்பந்து சம்மேளனம் அணியின் மோசமான பெறுபேறுகள் காரணமாக பயிற்சியாள ஊழியர்களை நீக்கி, அணியை வலுவாக்க UEFA Pro பயிற்சி உரிமத்துடன் சர்வதேச பயிற்சியாளரை கொண்டு வர முடிவு செய்தது.
பாஸ்டனைச் சேர்ந்த திரு. அமீர் அலஜிக் தலைமைப் பயிற்சியாளராக நியமிக்கப்பட்டார், மேலும் அவர் இரண்டாவது சுற்றில் எதிர்காலப் போட்டிகளுக்கு அணியைத் தயார்படுத்த சில அடிப்படைப் பணிகளைச் செய்தார். அவரது நியமனத்திற்குப் பிறகு, இலங்கை இரண்டு போட்டிகளில் விளையாடியது மற்றும் அவரது முதல் போட்டி தென் கொரியாவில் லெபனானுக்கு எதிராக நடந்தது. போட்டியின் முதல் கோலை அடித்த வாசிம் ராசிக் இலங்கைக்கு மிகவும் சாதகமான ஆரம்பத்தை பெற்றுக் கொடுத்ததோடு போட்டி 3-2 என தோல்வியில் முடிந்தது.
தென் கொரியாவுக்கு எதிரான இரண்டாவது போட்டியில், துரதிர்ஷ்டவசமாக, இலங்கை 5 கோல்களை விட்டுக் கொடுத்தது, ஆனால் முதல் சுற்றில் அந்த எதிரணிக்கு இலங்கை 8 கோல்களை விட்டுக் கொடுத்ததால் அது நன்கு விளையாடிய போட்டியாக இருந்தது.
DPR கொரியா இல்லாததால், இலங்கைக்கு 4வது இடத்தைப் பெறும் வாய்ப்பு கிடைத்தது மற்றும் AFC ஆசிய கோப்பை 2023 தகுதிகாண் இறுதி சுற்றுக்கு தகுதி பெற்றது.
ஜூன் 6, 2022 அன்று உஸ்பெகிஸ்தானில் ஆரம்பமான AFC ஆசியக் கோப்பை 2023 தகுதிச் சுற்றுப் போட்டியின் போட்டியின் C பிரிவில் உஸ்பெகிஸ்தான், தாய்லாந்து மற்றும் மாலத்தீவுகளை இலங்கை எதிர்கொள்கிறது.
போட்டியை நடத்தும் உஸ்பெகிஸ்தான் அணி முழுப் போட்டியிலும் ஆதிக்கம் செலுத்தி இலங்கைக்கு எதிரான 3 – 0 கோல்கள் வித்தியாசத்தில் எளிதாக வெற்றி பெற்றது.
குழுவின் இரண்டாவது போட்டி தாய்லாந்துக்கு எதிராக நடைபெற்றது மற்றும் இலங்கை முந்தைய போட்டியுடன் ஒப்பிடுகையில் சிறப்பாக விளையாடியது, ஆனால் துரதிர்ஷ்டவசமாக தாய்லாந்து 2 -0 கோல்களால் வெற்றி பெற்றது.
குழுவின் மூன்றாவது போட்டி மாலைதீவுக்கு எதிராக நடைபெற்றது. மாலைதீவு 1 – 0 என்ற கோல் அடிப்படையில் போட்டியை வென்றது.
இந்தத் தொடரில் இலங்கை ஒரு போட்டியில் கூட வெற்றி பெறவில்லை.
Sri Lanka’s ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 campaign has suffered a massive setback, with star all-rounder Wanindu Hasaranga ruled out of the remainder of the tournament due to a hamstring injury.
Medical scans conducted after Sri Lanka’s opening match against Ireland confirmed that the leg-spinning all-rounder will require several weeks of rehabilitation, effectively ending his participation in the global showpiece event.
Hasaranga, a central figure in Sri Lanka’s T20 plans over the past few years, sustained the injury during the early stages of the tournament. His absence leaves a significant void in both the bowling and lower-middle-order batting departments.
Widely regarded as one of the most dangerous T20 bowlers in world cricket, Hasaranga’s impact in ICC tournaments has been remarkable. With 40 wickets, he currently stands as the second-highest wicket-taker in T20 World Cup history — a statistic that underlines the scale of the blow to the co-hosts.
Beyond the numbers, Hasaranga’s ability to break partnerships in crucial moments and provide quick runs under pressure has made him indispensable to Sri Lanka’s balance in white-ball cricket.
Attention now turns to potential replacements. Leg-spinner Dushan Hemantha is expected to be named as Hasaranga’s replacement, pending official approval from Sri Lanka Cricket and the ICC Event Technical Committee. While Hemantha offers promise and attacking intent, stepping into the shoes of Sri Lanka’s premier match-winner will be a formidable challenge.
As of now, Sri Lanka Cricket is yet to issue a formal statement confirming the squad alteration.
With the tournament still in its early stages, Sri Lanka must now regroup quickly. The onus will fall on the remaining senior bowlers to shoulder added responsibility as the hosts attempt to keep their World Cup ambitions alive without one of their most influential players
Cricket
“I Just Wanted to Score a Few Boundaries” – Kamindu Mendis Stars as Sri Lanka Beat Ireland in T20 World Cup Opener
Sri Lanka’s decision to draft in Kamindu Mendis at the last moment proved inspired, as the all-rounder produced a match-turning knock to guide the hosts to a 20-run victory over Ireland in their opening match of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 at the R. Premadasa Stadium on Sunday.
Coming in with Sri Lanka in trouble at 86 for 4, Kamindu counter-attacked with a blistering 44 off just 19 deliveries, striking four boundaries and two sixes to swing momentum firmly in the hosts’ favour. His innings transformed a faltering batting effort into a competitive total of 163.
I just wanted to score a few boundaries and put a partnership with Kusal Mendis
Kusal was outstanding today. He deserves a lot of credit. We wanted someone to bat through the innings.
Kusal Mendis played the anchor role to perfection, remaining unbeaten on a composed half-century and ensuring Sri Lanka batted through their 20 overs — something that looked unlikely during the middle phase of the innings.
Sri Lanka’s bowling unit then delivered a disciplined performance, led by their spin trio of Maheesh Theekshana, Wanindu Hasaranga and Dunith Wellalage, who shared seven wickets to derail Ireland’s chase. Hasaranga claimed three scalps, taking his overall T20 World Cup wicket tally to 40 — second only to Bangladesh’s Shakib Al Hasan (50).
There was a brief scare for Sri Lanka when Hasaranga limped off after his second over, sparking concern over his fitness. However, the skipper returned to complete his spell, easing fears ahead of the remaining group matches.
Ireland showed early promise, with George Dockrell returning impressive figures of 2 for 17 and a solid 49-run partnership between Lorcan Tucker and Harry Tector keeping them in the contest. But once spin was introduced in tandem, the visitors struggled to maintain momentum.
From 105 for 2, Ireland lost wickets in quick succession and were eventually bowled out for 143 in 19.5 overs, with Matheesha Pathirana picking up two wickets in the final over.
They got about 15 runs too many,” admitted Ireland captain Paul Stirling.
We were a bit sloppy in the field and we’ve got plenty of work to do before the next game. Spin is going to play a big role in this tournament, and that’s something we need to adapt to quickly.
Co-hosting the 20-team tournament alongside defending champions India, Sri Lanka could not have asked for a better start. The victory not only earned crucial points but also injected confidence into a campaign that carries high expectations on home soil
Cricket
Pakistan–India Match Uncertainty Could Cost Sri Lanka Up to US$30 Million at ICC T20 World Cup 2026
Sri Lanka is facing a potential financial setback of up to US$25–30 million amid growing uncertainty over the highly anticipated Pakistan vs India clash at the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026, according to reports from local media and industry sources.
The island nation, which is set to co-host the global tournament, had been preparing to stage the marquee encounter on 15 February 2026 at the R. Premadasa International Cricket Stadium in Colombo. However, reports suggesting that Pakistan may boycott the fixture against India have raised serious concerns among Sri Lankan cricket officials and key stakeholders in the tourism and hospitality sectors.
The Pakistan–India contest is widely regarded as the single biggest commercial driver of any ICC tournament, attracting massive global television audiences, sold-out stadiums and premium sponsorship interest. Sri Lanka had positioned the fixture as a major economic catalyst, with expectations of a sharp spike in international arrivals and record revenues across multiple sectors.
While no official cancellation has been announced, uncertainty surrounding Pakistan’s participation — reportedly linked to directives from the Pakistan government — has already begun to impact projected earnings. Tourism industry sources indicate that hotel bookings in Colombo and surrounding areas have slowed, with some early cancellations reported as fans and tour operators await clarity.
The potential fallout could be significant for Sri Lanka’s tourism-dependent economy, which increasingly relies on high-profile international sporting events to drive short-term visitor inflows and spending.
Commercial and Tourism Impact
Ticket sales for the India–Pakistan match were expected to be among the highest of the tournament, featuring premium pricing and early sell-outs typical of fixtures involving the two rivals. A boycott would likely result in major losses from ticket revenue, sponsorship activations, stadium advertising and broadcast-linked commercial agreements.
Beyond cricketing revenue, the ripple effect would be felt across airlines, travel agencies, restaurants, transport providers and small businesses operating around event venues. Informal sector workers — including vendors, drivers and temporary service staff — also stand to lose a crucial source of short-term income tied to matchday demand.
Sri Lanka Cricket Appeals to PCB
In an effort to prevent a damaging outcome, Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) President Shammi Silva has formally written to the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), urging it to reconsider reports that Pakistan may skip the February 15 fixture in Colombo.
In the letter, SLC stated that it had learned through media reports that while Pakistan is expected to participate in the tournament, a decision may have been taken to avoid the match against India. Sri Lanka Cricket emphasized that all commercial, logistical, security and operational arrangements for hosting the tournament have already been finalized.
SLC further highlighted that ticket sales for matches scheduled in Sri Lanka — particularly the India–Pakistan clash — had recorded exceptionally strong demand, underlining the scale of public interest and commercial expectations attached to the fixture.
Sri Lanka Cricket warned that Pakistan’s absence from such a high-profile match could have far-reaching economic consequences, including reduced tourism inflows, substantial revenue losses and broader impacts on businesses linked to the event.
With the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 drawing closer, stakeholders across Sri Lanka are now anxiously awaiting clarity, hoping that diplomacy and dialogue can preserve cricket’s biggest rivalry — not only for the integrity of the tournament, but for the country’s economic interests as well.
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