Angelo Mathews threatens retirement after being sacked as captain
Sri Lanka's veteran cricketer, Angelo Mathews, is hurt with his country's cricket board for sacking him from the ODI captaincy. In a recent development, he has threatened to retire from ODI and T20I cricket after the Sri Lankan board selected Dinesh Chandimal as the new captain. The decision has come after Sri Lanka's dismal performance in the Asia Cup. Further details follow.
Comments made by Mathews after being sacked
Mathews believes that he has been made a scapegoat after Sri Lanka's poor performances against Bangladesh and Afghanistan in the Asia Cup. However, the board has not given any clear reason as to why Mathews was sacked. The statement read, "The national selectors...have requested Mathews to relinquish his duties as captain with immediate effect".
Sri Lanka performed poorly against Afghanistan and Bangladesh
Sri Lanka's performance, in the 2018 Asia Cup, was dismal with their batsmen failing to cross the 200-run mark in the matches against Afghanistan and Bangladesh. Sri Lanka were bundled for 124 runs by Bangladesh and they scored only 158 while chasing 250 against Afghanistan. The two losses saw them exiting the competition from the group stage.
A brief look at Mathews' career and captaincy
Mathews has played 203 ODIs for his country, scoring 5,380 runs and picking 114 wickets. From 2013 to 2017, Matthews captained the Lankan Test side, where they won 13 and lost 15 matches under him. Notably, he was Sri Lanka's youngest ever Test captain. He has captained the Sri Lankan ODI side in 106 matches, winning 49 and losing 51.
Chandimal declared captain across all formats, what next for Lankans?
Already the Test captain of Sri Lanka, now Dinesh Chandimal will also lead the ODI and T20I sides of his country. Up next, Sri Lanka will tour England in a series comprising of five ODI matches, a one-off T20 and three Tests.
