A new dawn in Sri Lankan cricket. Angelo Mathews, the backbone of the team for a decade, has retired from Test cricket. The 38-year-old left the longest format after the Sri Lanka vs Bangladesh 1st Test in Galle. Mathews was a rock at home and was best remembered for his exploits in England as a captain and batter in 2014.
Replacement for Angelo Mathews
He has retired as Sri Lanka’s third-highest run-scorer in Test cricket. To fill his shoes won’t be easy. Not to forget that earlier this year, Dimuth Karunaratne also retired. Although Dinesh Chandimal and Dhananjaya De Silva have stepped up as the senior-most players, they aren’t of the same stature as Mathews in Test cricket.
But luckily for Sri Lanka, they have found an all-rounder with immense batting potential like Mathews. Kamindu Mendis, who returned to the Test team last year, has scored 5 hundreds and 4 half-centuries since 2024. He’s taking over the number five spot and it will most likely be him who takes over from Mathews.
Sri Lanka wasn’t that far away from contending for the World Test Championship (WTC) Final 2025. And they are the ones who have kicked off the WTC 2025-27 cycle as well. Currently, they are tied for the first spot with Bangladesh after the Galle Test ended in a draw but they can take the spot if they beat Bangladesh in Colombo.
Beating the Tigers wouldn’t be easy. Their batters are in form. Najmul Hossain Shanto scored twin hundreds despite reports of him stepping down as Bangladesh Test captain after the 2-match series against Sri Lanka ends.
Changes to the squad for 2nd Test
Apart from Mathews retiring, the hosts have been forced to make a change as well. All-rounder Milan Ratnayake, who impressed with both bat and ball in the opening Test at Galle, has been ruled out due to an injury. So, Vishwa Fernando and Dunith Wellalage have joined the side.
Colombo traditionally offers more support to seamers than Galle, and Sri Lanka often fields a three-seam attack at the venue. Fernando might join Kasun Rajitha and Vishwa Fernando to make a pace trio there. Prabath Jayasuriya had an off-game while Tharindu Ratnayake impressed with his ambidextrous spin.
What might happen is that Dunith Wellalage or Akila Dananjaya might come into the mix instead of Prabath. He has been a great bowler for the last couple of years but Sri Lanka is looking to build a team for the future. From this aspect, 22-year-old Wellalage might be a better option. And he isn’t a mug with the bat either.
Sri Lanka squad for 2nd Bangladesh Test
Dhananjaya De Silva (c), Pathum Nissanka, Oshada Fernando, Lahiru Udara (wk), Dinesh Chandimal, Kusal Mendis (wk), Kamindu Mendis, Pasindu Sooriyabandara, Sonal Dinusha, Dunith Wellalage, Pavan Rathnayake, Prabath Jayasuriya, Tharindu Ratnayake, Akila Dananjaya, Asitha Fernando, Kasun Rajitha, Vishwa Fernando, Isitha Wijesundara
Sri Lanka sans Angelo Mathews looking to start WTC 2025-27 on the right note Inside Sport India.
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