Angelo Mathews will play no part in the first Test against Pakistan

Image courtesy of: ESPNcricinfo

Sri Lanka all-rounder Angelo Mathews has been ruled out of the first Test against Pakistan after sustaining a calf injury.

Mathews strained his calf while training on Tuesday and subsequently underwent scans on Wednesday.

Mathews has succumbed to numerous injuries over the last 12 months as late last year, he was out of action with “multiple leg injuries”.

In January, he tore his hamstring during Sri Lanka’s tour of South Africa, which kept him sidelined until June.

Mathews’ absence will be a huge blow for Sri Lanka, especially as they will be looking to bounce back from a disastrous home series against India, in which they lost all three Tests, all five ODIs and the one-off Twenty20 International as well.

Sri Lanka’s two-Test series against Pakistan gets underway in Abu Dhabi on September 28, while the second match will be a day-night Test in Dubai and begin on October 6.

After the Test series, the two nations will face each other in five ODIs and three Twenty20 Internationals.

The third and final Twenty20 International is expected to be held in Lahore rather than the United Arab Emirates. Should it occur, it will be the first time that Sri Lanka have returned to Pakistan since their team bus was attacked by militants back in March 2009.

Since then, Zimbabwe have been the only Full Member nation to tour the country. But, Pakistan took big steps towards bringing international cricket back to their country earlier this month as they hosted the World XI for a three-match Twenty20 series in Lahore.