India, Feb. 27 -- Fitness and form were not the only areas in which Sri Lanka failed, said captain Dasun Shanaka, as he also blamed the "negative environment created outside" for his team's ouster from the T20 World Cup and oddly urged the government to protect the players from criticism. Shanaka apologised to his country for the disappointing ouster from the Super Eight stage after a 61-run loss to New Zealand following a 51-run defeat at the hands of England. However, he was not too happy with the criticism that his players were facing due to underwhelming performances.

"As players, it's very hard for us to control the outside noise. So, most of the time, we mainly hear negative stuff, so no matter how positive we are as players, there...