“We did an MRI scan which revealed that I had multiple injuries on the same leg”
Image courtesy of: ESPNcricinfo
Sri Lanka captain Angelo Mathews has revealed that he decided to rule himself out of the upcoming tour of Zimbabwe in order to boost his chances of travelling to South Africa in mid-December.
Mathews tore his calf during the ODI series against Australia in August, but he was named in the original squad for the trip to Zimbabwe.
However, he pulled out last week after undergoing scans, which showed “multiple injuries on the same leg”.
Mathews was not the only player to be ruled out as vice-captain Dinesh Chandimal will also miss the tour of Zimbabwe as he has not sufficiently recovered after having his thumb surgically repaired.
Pace bowlers Dhammika Prasad, Nuwan Pradeep and Dushmantha Chameera have also been sidelined due to injuries.
With that in mind, Sri Lanka have handed the captaincy to veteran spinner Rangana Herath, who will become the oldest player to captain a Test team for the first time since Somachandra de Silva in 1983.
“I had about one-and-a-half months to recover and I was preparing myself to be ready for the Zimbabwe tour,” Mathews said. “Unfortunately there has been a setback.
“We did an MRI scan which revealed that I had multiple injuries on the same leg. I had to pull out after the expert medical panel advised me and [told] SLC not to send me to Zimbabwe because it might jeopardise my chances of playing in South Africa.
“We are planning to take a closer look at why this is happening. I hope my injury doesn’t take that long to heal. The doctors have advised rest, and the recovery can be earlier than that or more; we will have to play it by ear. I don’t think it will surpass the South African tour.”
Despite having a depleted team, Herath is confident that his side can get the job done in Zimbabwe, especially as they whitewashed Australia 3-0 on home soil earlier this year.
“If you take our performance in the recent Test series against Australia the confidence we gained from the 3-0 win will be very beneficial to us,” Herath said. “The team’s confidence levels are very high after that victory. The team that I have I am confident can perform well in Zimbabwe.”
Meanwhile, Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) president Thilanga Sumathipala admitted that he was concerned by a large number of injuries to have plagued the national team and added that he will take a closer look at the players’ workloads.
“We have not managed our players properly for the last three years,” Sumathipala said. “We are experiencing good cricketers who have come in from Under-19, U-23 and club level, but once they reach the top level they can’t sustain their physical condition because they have been badly managed.
“Mathews is a world-class allrounder and there is so much demand and so much of pressure on his body that it’s not easy for a person like him to be without an injury unless he has a proper scientific approach.
“Mathews had the highest number of match days in the past 18 months. At this level a player simply cannot go on. He has to pull out and take a genuine break for the body to recover. We don’t have enough recovery time.”