Srilankan All-rounder Angelo Mathews has made desires to play for the national team once again after turning down the central contract back in July this year. Angelo Mathews was not ready to accept the order since he was given a pay cut of a whopping USD 50000.
Mathews didn’t participate in the series against India in July after pulling out for personal reasons. He has given the reason that the behavior of senior cricketers and treatment disappointed him where he felt like giving up. However, it was believed that he opted out after conveying to the selectors that he was not happy with the environment where he was expected to play.
If Mathews gets and approval from SLC then he will be seen first in a home game
Now three months later, Mathews wants to playback for Sri Lanka. It is reported that Mathews has sent an email to SLC about his plans to return to Sri Lanka. Board will be taking a final call on Tuesday, October 12. No Official communication is observed from either Mathews or SLC.
In case, Mathews gets and approval from SLC then he will be seen first in a home game against West Indies in November, after the conclusion of the T20 World Cup. Post that, Lanka’s Premier League will be starting and he can be the part of it where he represents Colombo Kings.
Mathews has been a great addition to Sri Lankan cricket where he played all the formats regularly. He has played 90 matches in Tests and scored 6236 runs at an average of 44.86, including a best of 200*. He has also taken 33 wickets with the best figures of 4/44.
Talking about his stats in ODIs, he has played 218 matches and scored 5835 runs at an average of 41.68 and strike rate of 83.31. He has taken 120 wickets including career-best figures of 6/20 against India in Colombo.
Equally contributing for T20 too, Mathews has played 78 T20Is for Sri Lanka, scoring 1148 runs with a high score of 81* and picking up 37 wickets with an economy rate of 7.00.