South Africa Celebrate at Lord’s—But Dhananjaya de Silva Warns Sri Lanka: “That Could Have Been Us” 
After witnessing South Africa’s jubilation at Lord’s following their WTC victory, Sri Lanka’s Test captain Dhananjaya de Silva issued a stark reminder to his squad: they were one slip away from that podium.
📉 What Went Wrong? Sri Lanka’s Final Four Failures
Sri Lanka had a genuine shot at the WTC Final—but losing all four of their last Tests (two away vs South Africa and two home against Australia) meant they finished a disappointing sixth in the standings :contentReference[oaicite:1]{index=1}.
“If we’d won three of those four,” said de Silva, “we’d be at Lord’s. But we didn’t—and we missed our chance.” :contentReference[oaicite:2]{index=2}
🧰 Lessons from the Previous Cycle
This wasn’t the first time they came close. In the previous WTC cycle, Sri Lanka also had an opportunity right up to their last Test. But missed chances bled away. Now, de Silva—leading from the start of this cycle—won’t let history repeat itself :contentReference[oaicite:3]{index=3}.
🔥 A New Resolve for WTC 2025‑28
De Silva says this new cycle is different — they’ll treat every Test as a must-win and aim to rack up maximum wavering points, especially in home series :contentReference[oaicite:4]{index=4}.
He also believes Sri Lanka's limited number of Tests (only ~4–6 per year) is a disadvantage and wants Sri Lanka Cricket to schedule more to build form and rhythm :contentReference[oaicite:5]{index=5}.
🔮 Eyes on the Prize—No Room for Slip-Ups
To de Silva, the WTC isn’t a distant dream anymore—it’s a visible target. “We reminded them where we could have been…and where we ended up,” he said, urging his players to treat the Bangladesh series and beyond as a reboot :contentReference[oaicite:6]{index=6}.
📌 Quick Recap:
- Sri Lanka lost 4 critical Tests in final stretch → Finished 6th in WTC 2023‑25.
- De Silva warns: “We were inches from Lord’s.”
- Next cycle: Every Test is a final, starting with Bangladesh home series.
- Needs: More red-ball fixtures to improve form and ranking.
Tags: Sri Lanka cricket, WTC 2023‑25, Dhananjaya de Silva, World Test Championship, Test cricket, Lord’s final, Bangladesh series
