ZCZC
BSP-07
CRICKET-SRI-ENG-MATHEWS-CHANDIMAL
Sri Lanka sacks skipper Mathews ahead of England tour
COLOMBO, Sept 24, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – Sri Lanka’s cricket board on Sunday
sacked skipper Angelo Mathews on Sunday after the country’s humiliating exit
from the Asia Cup, replacing him with Dinesh Chandimal for the upcoming
England tour.
The board said it asked Mathews to step down as captain of the ODI and T20
teams to clear the way for Chandimal to lead Sri Lanka during the tour.
“The national selectors… have requested Mathews to relinquish his duties
as captain with immediate effect,” the board said in a statement. It did not
say why Mathews was sacked.
But Mathews has come in for severe criticism for his leadership at the Asia
Cup, with the Sri Lankan side forced out of the tournament after losing to
lower ranked Afghanistan and Bangladesh.
Chandimal was already captain of the Sri Lankan Test team and will now lead
the country in all three formats of the game.
England will play five ODI matches, a one-off T20 and three Tests against
the visitors from October 10.
Sri Lanka were thumped by 137 runs against Bangladesh in their opening
match of the Asia Cup tournament and have now lost 30 of their 40 matches
since January 2017.
BSS/AFP/GMR/1107 hrs