Angelo Mathews asks to be relieved of national duties until further notice

[Varun]

Former Sri Lanka captain Angelo Mathews has opted out of the upcoming white ball series against India and "national duties" in general "until further notice", Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) said in a statement on Wednesday.

SLC said that 29 out 30 players nominated by selectors to be considered for the series have signed the tour contract.

"Angelo Mathews, who was included in the respective 30-member squad, requested Sri Lanka Cricket to relieve him from National Duties, owing to personal reasons, until further notice," said the SLC.

Mathews last played for Sri Lanka in a Test match against Bangladesh in May.

Sri Lanka's players had refused to sign tour contracts for their away series against England amid a tussle with SLC about lack of transparency in central contracts. The players travelled for the tour anyhow and Sri Lanka returned winless. Moreover, vice-captain Kusal Mendis, opening batsman Danushka Gunathilaka and wicketkeeper Niroshan Dickwella were sent home pending inquiry for breaching bio-bubble rules.

With the central contract standoff continuing, it is reported that SLC will only be signing a succession of tour contracts with the players.

Sri Lanka's series against India starts on July 13. The teams face each other in three ODIs and as many T20Is with all the matches being played in Colombo.

https://www.indiatoday.in/sports/cr...uad-tour-white-ball-series-1825028-2021-07-07

Apparently he is considering an international retirement. What's gone wrong with Sri Lanka? Mathews and Chandimal were to be carrying the team's post-Sangakkara/Jayawardene legacy but they have sunk without a trace.

 

[silentkiller187]

Pakistan fans should take note next time they criticize their time, things could be a lot worse.

 

[Concerned]

It’s a shame, Srilanka was always a formidable side. For whatever reason they have continued to decline with little progress being made.

 

[MesonK]

Best test batsman from SC after Kohli (among still playing)

 

[Snowflake]

Best test batsman from SC after Kohli (among still playing)

Matthews?

 

[MesonK]

Matthews?

See for yourself

http://www.pakpassion.net/ppforum/showthread.php?301098-Best-Sub-Continental-Test-Batsmen-2010-2021-Filtered-Stats-(Away-and-vs-Tough-Oppositions)

 

[Savak]

This guy should have been the team's leader and helped Sri Lanka move forward from the retirements of Jaywardene and Sangakarra, he failed to keep himself fit and did not lead by example. Sri Lankan Cricket Board will be ruing their wasted investment in this guy.

 

[Saj]

More problems for the Sri Lankans.

They need leaders like this guy, but he's probably looking at the rest of the players available and thinking, what's the point.

Not much light at the end of the tunnel for Sri Lanka cricket.

 

[BunnyRabbit]

He was the glue of the SL batting lineup from 2015-2021. Yes he was a bit selfish batter, but he was clearly their best.

SLC has been shooting themselves on the foot for last 2-3 years now. Now there isn't a single batter in their team who can play big and long and help their team put competitive totals on the board. At the moment, their team is just all or bust. Their newbies don't know batting in partnerships or making partnerships while batting. Mendis, Perera, Dickwella and Gunathilaka are all individual batters not complementary ones.

With their recent appointments of Aravinda, Moody etc and the direction they are going in looks like a dark tunnel. In addition to that, Mickey Arthur and his team of stooges have been given even more power than they had in Pakistan and they are dropping players as they like, there's no one challenging or asking MA about his selections and tactics etc. They have appointed a new captain with miniscule leadership experience. Atleast with Pakistan, Inzi was a big enough name to not give into all of Mickey's demands and even Sarfraz had an ample leadership experience in the domestic from a young age.

 

[Savak]

He was the glue of the SL batting lineup from 2015-2021. Yes he was a bit selfish batter, but he was clearly their best.

SLC has been shooting themselves on the foot for last 2-3 years now. Now there isn't a single batter in their team who can play big and long and help their team put competitive totals on the board. At the moment, their team is just all or bust. Their newbies don't know batting in partnerships or making partnerships while batting. Mendis, Perera, Dickwella and Gunathilaka are all individual batters not complementary ones.

With their recent appointments of Aravinda, Moody etc and the direction they are going in looks like a dark tunnel. In addition to that, Mickey Arthur and his team of stooges have been given even more power than they had in Pakistan and they are dropping players as they like, there's no one challenging or asking MA about his selections and tactics etc. They have appointed a new captain with miniscule leadership experience. Atleast with Pakistan, Inzi was a big enough name to not give into all of Mickey's demands and even Sarfraz had an ample leadership experience in the domestic from a young age.

Lol how desperate were the Sri Lankans that they went for MA, GF and co? The previous coaches achieved a lot more than this group of charlatans.

The PCB requested Inzi to step in multiple times to reign in MA's firefighting in the team

 

[sweep_shot]

I do not blame him.

Sri Lanka cricket seems quite negative nowadays.

 

[hoshiarpurexpress]

Angelo is a decent batter and was earmarked for leadership by Sanga and Mahela themselves.
Not sure what happened, but SLC is going down the dogs pretty quickly.
He probably has given up and just looking to playing franchise cricket and live peacefully.

 

[BunnyRabbit]

Lol how desperate were the Sri Lankans that they went for MA, GF and co? The previous coaches achieved a lot more than this group of charlatans.

The PCB requested Inzi to step in multiple times to reign in MA's firefighting in the team

SL were known to be very efficient in appointing the best management staff till maybe 2015. They had Tom Moody, Trevor Bayliss, Dav Whatmore, John Dyson, Graham Ford in the past all of whom yielded wonderful results. But it's been going down steadily and has reached a new low now.

They had a fallout with Hathurusingha and then appointed MA. Their new contract stuff has been pretty confusing and have already forced Thisara Perera into retirement. Matthews looks set to go now.

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

It's sad how drastically Mathews' career fell off the wayside over the years. He was one of the best batsmen in the world in 2013 and now he's not even a shadow of his former self.

 

[MenInG]

Sri Lankan cricket team is perhaps going through one of its toughest phase - both on and off the field. The results aren’t coming and the relations between players and Sri Lanka Cricket are also tensed due to the contractual situation with few unhappy with the new terms.

Add to it, the veteran allrounder Angelo Mathews has taken a break from the upcoming white-ball matches against India at home citing personal reasons. There are unconfirmed reports that he’s also considering retirement having turned down the new contract.

Sri Lanka cricket legend and head of its technical advisory committee Aravinda de Silva has expressed his sadness at the turn of events surrounding Mathews, saying if the allrounder had decided to quit, it’s not the ideal way for him to bid adieu to international cricket.

“It is a pity if he has decided to quit at this stage,” De Silva was quoted as saying by The New Indian Express. “I see him as a guy who contributed a lot to Sri Lanka cricket. Any senior players, I would not like to see him leave in this sort of manner."

De Silva advises the players to get over ‘trivial matters’ like contract negotiations and instead focus on their cricket future. “These are trivial matters when it comes to issues with cricket boards and contracts and things like that. It is time for them to put aside all those and look at their future," he said.

He continued, “If this opportunity was given to me, I would have taken it and accepted it with both hands and gone out there and done what I knew best."

Sri Lankan team recently toured England for ODI and T20I series and returned home without winning a single match. Their poor show has resulted in criticism but de Silva reckons that all they need to do is get the balance and combination right.

“They (Sri Lanka) need to get the balance and combination sorted out in the national team as soon as possible. Cricket, for that matter, any sport, is all to do with confidence," De Silva said.

“As soon as you start doing well, and build that confidence, things can change. Any team that walks into that World Cup with booming confidence will do well. It is a case of bringing that habit of winning and building that confidence going into the World Cup," he added.

https://www.news18.com/cricketnext/...gelo-mathews-has-decided-to-quit-3943307.html

 

[shah_1]

Once upon a time he was being compared to Virat Kohli

His career hasn't really progressed at all

 

[MenInG]

Sri Lanka’s Former Captain Angelo Mathews informed Sri Lanka Cricket that he is available for selections for the upcoming tours.

Accordingly, with immediate effect, Mathews will join the squads training at the High-Performance Center, focusing on future international tours.

He was relieved from National Duties during the month of July 2021, following a request made by the player, owing to personal reasons.