IND vs SL 2017: Angelo Mathews Declared Fit for India Tour
Nov 1, 2017 at 11:01 AM
Ahead of the tough tour of India, Sri Lanka has got the much-needed injury boost, as their star all-rounder and former captain Angelo Mathews has been declared fit to return to action.
Mathews, who has been plagued by injuries this year, recently missed the full-fledged series against Pakistan with a grade one tear to his calf muscle.
Two other players – Kusal Perera and Asela Gunaratne, who were out of action with hamstring and thumb injuries, respectively, have also recovered in time to make it to the squad. The news will be a big boost for the Islanders who will be taking India in a full-fledged series, starting this month.
“Angelo and Kusal Janith [Perera] have both recovered, and they will be considered for selection for the Indian series. Asela Gunaratne is fit as well,” Sri Lanka Cricket CEO Ashley De Silva said.
Sri Lanka’s downfall this year was arrested for a brief period when they stunned Pakistan to win the two-Test series. However, it followed by whitewashes in the five-match ODI and three-match T20I series. With the challenge in India certainly going to be more tougher, interim head coach Nic Pothas said the new faces would change the mood of the dressing room.
“It’s pretty obvious what the mood will be like when you’ve lost 16 games,” Pothas said. “With respect to new faces, that’s a conversation that we need to have with the selectors. But I think it stands to reason that in any walk of life when you’ve had negative results for a period of time you need to see some change somewhere.
“On the Test series, let me remind you that we made history,” he stated. “We did something that no other nation has ever done in the UAE. It tends to have been forgotten due to the fact that ODIs follow the Tests. But we have to give huge credit to the team and to the captain,” he added.
Pothas was also quick to mention the positives from the Pakistan tour.
“Overall across the whole tour, we can certainly glean a lot of positives. The fielding has improved out of sight and certainly was one of the shining lights throughout the month that we were out there. And the bowling as well was of a very high standard; the execution of the plans was very pleasing,” he said.
“Obviously, some of the batting didn’t go according to plan, but that’s the cricket world and other teams are allowed to play well. It was also one of the best bowling attacks in the world, so it’s always going to be tough, but I think on the whole the series started off very well with that Test win. Certainly, the attitude, the character and the fight shown by that team was very, very pleasing,” he added.
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