‘I’m still alive’ – Athapaththu channels her pain into thrilling display

A Captain’s Redemption Against Ireland

Two days after Chamari Athapaththu candidly labeled herself “a failure” as the captain of a Sri Lankan side that had repeatedly missed out on the knockout stages of the T20 World Cup, she responded in the most emphatic way possible. Stepping onto the field against Ireland, the veteran campaigner delivered one of her finest individual batting displays, steering Sri Lanka to a dominant and much-needed victory.

Chasing a modest target of 131, Athapaththu took absolute control of the innings. She blasted a phenomenal 106 runs off just 61 deliveries, an effort that accounted for a staggering 79.1% of Sri Lanka’s total runs. This incredible proportion represents the highest percentage contribution by a single batter in any T20I innings where a century was scored. Her masterclass featured 17 boundaries—including eight crisp cover drives and lofted shots over the off-side, alongside six authoritative pulls and flicks on the leg-side—and two massive sixes. It was a brutal batting display that perfectly married her aggressive, team-first attitude with a deeply personal statement of survival.

Silencing the Critics and Finding Motivation in Adversity

Prior to this clash, both Sri Lanka and their captain were under intense pressure. With only one win from three matches, Sri Lanka desperately needed a significant margin of victory to keep their tournament hopes alive. Athapaththu herself was experiencing a barren run by her lofty standards, making a big performance essential. She delivered both in a single, roaring performance.

“In the last 18 months I haven’t score a hundred, so a lot of bad comments came to me,” Athapaththu admitted after the match. “I love those comments because otherwise I won’t improve. Sometimes healthy criticism is really good for a cricketer. That’s why I played a good game today and I showed my jersey and my name because I said to the others, ‘I’m still alive.'”

While centuries are a rarity in the shortest format of the game, Athapaththu’s last T20I hundred had come in July 2024, when she struck an unbeaten 119 against Malaysia. In One Day Internationals, her last three-figure score was recorded against South Africa in April 2024, during a historic successful chase of 302. In the interim, she maintained an average of 26.70 in ODIs (with four half-centuries) and 31.60 in T20Is at a strike-rate of 116.60 (also with four half-centuries). While highly respectable, her status as the team’s anchor means any dip in absolute dominance quickly invites intense public scrutiny.

The Defiant Celebration and the Depth Challenge

At 36 years of age, questions about Athapaththu’s retirement are frequently raised, often fueled by her own enigmatic social media posts. However, her actions on the field against Ireland told a completely different story. Upon reaching her century, she initially offered a muted celebration to acknowledge the crowd, before turning around to point decisively at her name and number on the back of her jersey—a gesture reminiscent of a football star claiming their ground.

Yet, this spectacular performance also brings a critical question to the forefront: who will step up to carry the torch when she eventually departs? Athapaththu remains Sri Lanka’s only T20I century-maker, boasting four hundreds to her name. In ODI cricket, the gap is even more glaring; only Vishmi Gunaratne and Harshita Samarawickrama have recorded centuries, with one each, compared to Athapaththu’s commanding tally of nine. While promising young talents like Kavisha Dilhari and wicketkeeper Kaushini Nuthyangana have shown flashes of brilliance, the team’s overall depth is still being rigorously tested. This lack of supporting world-class experience is precisely why Athapaththu continues to play on.

The Global Franchise Gap

Athapaththu was vocal about the systemic challenges facing emerging cricket nations. Unlike powerhouse teams like Australia, New Zealand, and England, Sri Lanka lacks players with extensive exposure to global franchise leagues. Athapaththu herself has tasted this elite level, having briefly represented the UP Warriorz in India’s Women’s Premier League (WPL), alongside other leagues around the world.

“We don’t have three or four world-class players in my team,” Athapaththu explained. “The team is very young and they don’t have franchise exposure and the experience. We find good players but it’s too hard to build a good team without good world-class players.”

She emphasized that this lack of franchise opportunities severely hampers the growth of players from countries like Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and Pakistan. “That’s the sad part,” she noted. “I got that opportunity and I played around the world franchise cricket because I score runs and I perform. I’m continuously performing so that’s why I get the opportunity to play around the world. I’ve learned a lot of things when I was playing franchise because I share the dressing room with some of the world-class players and share the knowledge with them.”

World Cup Sorrow and Future Aspirations

For Athapaththu, personal accolades will always remain secondary to collective success. Despite her brilliant century, the pain of Sri Lanka’s broader tournament campaign remains a heavy burden. She expressed deep disappointment over their missed opportunities, particularly their costly defeat against the West Indies.

“I know we won this game and I scored a hundred but I am still worried about the game against West Indies. We had a pretty good chance to make the semi-finals and we lost that opportunity,” she reflected. “As a captain, as a player, I’m really worried about that. I played 10 World Cups as a player and I captained in this team five World Cups but still we have not made the semi-finals. It’s a huge loss for us.”

Mathematically, Sri Lanka’s chances of progressing in the current tournament are incredibly slim, requiring a massive victory over Scotland and other results to fall perfectly in their favor. However, a top-four group finish remains highly valuable, as it secures automatic qualification for the 2028 T20 World Cup in Pakistan. Looking further ahead, Sri Lanka is set to host next year’s inaugural, six-team Champions Trophy—a home tournament that could provide Chamari Athapaththu and her team with the ultimate stage to chase championship glory.