Angelo Mathews has demanded that the selectors let him undergo a fitness test

Image courtesy of: ESPNcricinfo

Sri Lanka all-rounder Angelo Mathews has been dropped for the upcoming ODI series against England due to fitness concerns.

The decision to remove Mathews from the squad comes just a couple of days after he was sacked as Sri Lanka’s limited overs captain. The leadership roles for both the ODI and Twenty20 sides was subsequently given to Dinesh Chandimal.

According to ESPNcricinfo, Mathews was less than impressed with his omission from the ODI team and has called on the national selectors to let him undergo a fitness test.

Sri Lanka’s squad for the ODI series against England has yet to be confirmed, but it has been submitted to the sports ministry for the country’s sports minister to approve it.

It was reported that Mathews’ fitness was a key topic of the meeting the 31-year-old had with the selectors and head coach Chandika Hathurusingha on Friday.

It was during this meeting that Mathews was also stripped of the limited overs captaincy.

Mathews has since lashed out at Sri Lanka Cricket through a letter he sent to the board’s CEO Ashley de Silva.

In the letter, Mathews said he “felt that I have been made the scapegoat” for Sri Lanka’s disastrous Asia Cup campaign, where they were knocked out in the group stage after losing to Bangladesh by 137 runs and Afghanistan by 91 runs.

The five-match ODI series between Sri Lanka and England begins on October 10 in Dambulla.