T20 World Cup: Sri Lanka can be a force to reckon with, says Muttiah Muralitharan

Sri Lankan legend Muttiah Muralitharan is confident that Sri Lanka will upset a few teams if they qualify for the Super 12s in the upcoming ICC Men’s T20 Cricket World Cup 2021. The T20 World Cup will kick off on October 17 with Qualifiers in which eight teams will compete and the top four sides will qualify for the Super 12, starting from October 23. Sri Lanka will be competing in the Qualifiers after failing to qualify directly for the Super 12s.

In recent times, the Sri Lankan side has been on a decline. It is in a rebuilding phase and many of the young players are yet to announce their arrival at the highest level. Sri Lankan legend Muttiah Muralitharan believes his national side has a good chance in the upcoming showpiece event. Speaking to the ICC, Muralitharan said, “The spinners are very good, whereas the batting is a little bit weaker, but if they can step up and manage decent totals, then the bowlers can defend them. If they make it through, I think they will upset a few teams.”

T20 WC: Muralitharan hopeful that Sri Lanka will qualify to the next stage

Sri Lanka will be competing against Ireland, Namibia, and the Netherlands with the top two teams qualifying for the Super 12. Sri Lanka has a good previous record at the T20 World Cup. They have reached the final three times and been victorious in 2014. But in recent times, the Asian side has struggled. Muralitharan was hopeful that his side will qualify to the next stage and have a positive impact.

He added, “from a Sri Lankan perspective, the team will have to go through qualifying in the first round. The team has gone down in the last five or six years and it’s the first time in our history that it has happened to us. Frankly speaking, we were not good enough, and have not played good enough cricket which is why we are in this position. But the team has capable players who can reach the Super 12s and have an impact, but first, they have to qualify."

Sri Lanka will start their T20 World Cup campaign on October 18 with a clash against Namibia. Dasun Shanaka will lead the Sri Lankan side in the T20 World Cup.

Image: @Facebook/Muttiah Muralitharan