In a big blow to Sri Lanka ahead of the upcoming three-Test series against India, their former skipper Angelo Mathews will not be plying his trade with the ball and would only play as a batsman.

Mathews did not bowl a single over during the warm-up game but is likely to resume bowling during the ODIs.

IND vs SL 2017: Injury-Prone Angelo Mathews to Play Only as a Batsman in Tests 2 — Mathews did not bowl during the warm-up game (Credits: AP)

Rumesh Ratnayake, Sri Lanka’s bowling coach, confirmed the news after the conclusion of the two-day warm-up game against Board President’s XI on Sunday (November 12) in Kolkata.

“Angelo comes in as a batsman,” Ratnayake said. “He has not bowled in a Test match for a while. I don’t think he will bowl here. We consider him more as a white-ball bowler and will look to bowl him in the ODIs only.”

IND vs SL 2017: Injury-Prone Angelo Mathews to Play Only as a Batsman in Tests 3 — Mathews has been plagued by injuries this year (Credits: AFP)

Mathews has endured a tough time this year as far as injuries are concerned and the Sri Lanka team management will surely not risk the all-rounder in the upcoming series. The star player, who has been plagued by injuries in 2017, recently missed the full-fledged series against Pakistan with a grade one tear to his calf muscle.

The chain of injuries began right at the start of the year when he got sidelined for close to five months after sustaining the hamstring injury in the second T20I against South Africa in January. He returned to action during the Champions Trophy but did not bowl. He also did not roll his arms during the series against Zimbabwe and Test series against India but resumed it during the ODI series against the Men in Blue.

With Mathews not available to bowl, Ratnayake feels the likes of Dasun Shanaka, Dhananjaya de Silva and Roshan Silva will play the role of the bowling all-rounder.

The bowling coach also said the Islanders are well prepared for the tough series against the world number one side.

“We have done all that we could have done to prepare for this challenge,” Ratnayake said. “Now it’s all about executing our plans on the field. Reverse swing a big factor in sub-continent conditions. We have worked on it. The SG ball is not too different from the Duke ball. We are getting used to it.”