Chamari Athapaththu: The women’s T20 World Cup is crucial for us to leave our imprint on the  global stage

Sri Lanka women skipper Chamari Athapaththu reckons that the upcoming Women’s T20 World Cup in UAE will be a crucial opportunity for her and the team to leave a mark at the global stage. As written for ICC:

It’s a big stage for our team and Sri Lanka. We have participated in numerous World Cups in the past, and each one has been an incredible chance for us.

We had a good competition and showed signs of being a strong team during the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup in South Africa last year, but regrettably, we lost some close games, like the one in which we lost to South Africa by three runs.

We demonstrated some of our abilities. All of our guys had a great learning experience from it.

We enter a different zone this time. Our side has advanced significantly in T20 cricket, having won the T20 Asia Cup and defeated other elite teams in the last 15 months.

The goal of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2024 is to present the women’s game to a global audience and demonstrate how far it has progressed from humble origins.

We need to win the Women’s T20 World Cup in order to establish ourselves internationally

The Asia Cup represented Sri Lanka’s greatest accomplishment in women’s cricket to date. We defeated Bangladesh in the first round, Pakistan in the semifinals, and India in the championship match to maintain our perfect record throughout the competition. Even though we eventually succeeded, it was more difficult for us to accomplish our ultimate aim because every game was tighter and more challenging.

In addition to the games, our players were thrilled with the support from the audience. The majority of the games we participated in, particularly the semifinals and championship, were sold out. For the women’s game in Sri Lanka, this was a novel circumstance. It was beneficial not only for Sri Lanka but also for women’s cricket worldwide since it conveys to the world the value of female empowerment and women’s cricket.

Since there are many Sri Lankans in the UAE, I am confident that we will receive a lot of support this time. We are thrilled to play in the two excellent cricketing venues that are hosting the matches.

We have a very talented team with a fantastic balance of youth and experience for this competition.

On the experienced side, we have players like Nilakshi (de Silva) and (Anuksha) Sanjeewani; on the bowling side, we have Inoshi (Priyadharshani), who is making waves in the rankings along with a few others. The young players, Harshitha (Samarawickrama), Vishmi (Gunaratne), and Kavisha (Dilhari), can win games for us. The crew is cohesive and has a nice blend.

Also Read: For the T20 World Cup, Sri Lankan women replace Kawya Kavindi with Inoka Ranaweera

In T20 cricket, we are aware that no team can be taken for granted. A few fast wickets, huge strokes, or dot balls can drastically alter the course of a match. We are conscious of the difficulties ahead since teams like South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, England, India, and Australia have demonstrated their mettle in competitions like this for many years.