Angelo Mathews will play no part in the Nidahas Trophy

Image courtesy of: ESPNcricinfo

Sri Lanka captain Angelo Mathews has been ruled out of next month’s Nidahas Trophy as he hasn’t sufficiently recovered from a hamstring injury.

Mathews sustained the injury during the ODI tri-series against Bangladesh and Zimbabwe and subsequently missed the remainder of Sri Lanka’s tour of Bangladesh.

Given his leg and hamstring woes, Mathews has only been available for 40 percent of Sri Lanka’s matches since late 2016. This is due to the fact that he has missed eight out of 18 Tests, 24 of 40 ODIs, and 14 of 19 Twenty20 Internationals.

With Mathews out of action, it is likely that Dinesh Chandimal will captain Sri Lanka in the tournament, which is a T20 tri-series against India and Bangladesh.

Mathews isn’t the only Sri Lankan player to have been ruled out of the Nidahas Trophy as pace bowler Shehan Madushanka is nursing a hamstring strain, while all-rounder Asela Gunaratne is still on the mend following a rotator cuff strain.

However, wicketkeeper-batsman Kusal Perera made the cut in the preliminary squad after recovering from a side strain. Kusal proved his fitness in the ongoing domestic Twenty20 competition, where he played two matches for Colts Cricket Club.

The Nidahas Trophy gets underway on March 6, with Sri Lanka going up against India in Colombo.

Sri Lanka’s preliminary squad: Dinesh Chandimal (capt), Upul Tharanga, Danushka Gunathilaka, Kusal Mendis, Dasun Shanaka, Kusal Perera, Thisara Perera, Jeevan Mendis, Suranga Lakmal, Niroshan Dickwella, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Isuru Udana, Jeffrey Vandersay, Akila Dananjaya, Amila Aponso, Asitha Fernando, Lahiru Kumara, Nuwan Pradeep, Dushmantha Chameera, Dhananjaya de Silva