“First, look at the mirror and see what you did wrong” - Muttiah Muralitharan’s stern message to Sri Lankan players over World Cup debacle

Sri Lankan spin bowling legend Muttiah Muralitharan has urged players of the national cricket team to stop looking for excuses and own up to responsibility for the 2023 World Cup debacle. According to the former off-spinner, the players are only diverting attention from the real problem by pointing at issues with the cricket board.

Lankan players and Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) have been at loggerheads for a while now over contract disputes and other matters. Recently, the International Cricket Council (ICC) even suspended SLC’s membership over government interference.

Speaking to Sportskeeda, though, Muralitharan held the players responsible for Sri Lanka’s disastrous performance in the 2023 ODI World Cup in India.

“They played badly. I would say they didn’t take the responsibility. Once you are on the field, the players need to take responsibility. Coaches can say so many things. They can draw tactics and everything. At the end of the day, you [players] make the play,” he commented.

“We won not even 20 percent matches, so that’s a poor performance. They have to go back and see what went wrong - how can I develop my skills? So those are the things rather than pointing out the administrator, coaches and other things. First, look at the mirror and see what you did wrong,” the 51-year-old added, making his disappointment at the team’s performance very clear.

An injury-hit Sri Lankan side finished ninth out of ten teams in the league stage of the 2023 World Cup, winning only two matches and losing seven.

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“They have to start believing in themselves” - Muttiah Muralitharan on Sri Lanka’s woes

Asked about what Sri Lanka need to do to improve their cricket, Muralitharan responded that players first need to take responsibility for their actions. He also added that youngsters need to be trained appropriately so that they have belief in their abilities.

“For the last 10 years, our performance has been dipping because the players won’t take ownership. The blame game is going on - because of him, because of that. Ifs and buts are not going to work for you. They have to start believing in themselves to start competing with other cricketers in the world. We have to put these things to young cricketers’ minds,” the Lankan legend concluded.

Muralitharan played 133 Tests, 350 ODIs, and 12 T20Is for Sri Lanka, claiming 800, 534, and 13 wickets, respectively.