Leaving With A Heavy Heart But No Regrets – Angelo Mathews

Jul 12, 2017 at 11:39 AM

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Leaving With A Heavy Heart But No Regrets – Angelo Mathews

Angelo Mathews has revealed the reasons that prompted him to step down as Sri Lanka’s captain in all three formats in the aftermath of the ODI series loss to Zimbabwe.

The 30-year old conveyed his decision to step down to the selectors on Tuesday (July 11) morning, one day after Zimbabwe won the fifth and final ODI to win their first series against Sri Lanka. Mathews had called the series defeat “one of the lowest points” of his career.

Speaking to Cricbuzz, the all-rounder, while admitting that he was sad to leave the captaincy, said that he has no regrets about his captaincy career which began four years ago.

“I am leaving with a heavy heart,” Mathews said. “But no regrets. I have had an outstanding four years as captain. I have been accused of various things by people, but I am telling you that I have always been honest and given 100 percent. I believe in karma,” added a tearful Mathews.

Mathews further revealed that he was contemplating the decision of stepping down a year ago but quashed it after finding no suitable candidate. His decision, nevertheless, has come at a time when Sri Lanka cricket perhaps needed his leadership the most. The most influential player in the team since the departure of stalwarts like Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara, Mathews’ captaincy would have helped Sri Lanka to move forward after some really poor performances in the last few months where they were whitewashed by South Africa in ODIs, exited the Champions Trophy at group stage and later failed to win the home series against Bangladesh and Zimbabwe.

Graeme Cremer and Sikandar Raza celebrates after hitting the winning run. Image Courtesy: AFP

“I had got great support no doubt. But I think the time is right to go. Let some fresh thinking come in. I wanted to step down a year ago as well. But at that point, there was no one to take over. Now I feel that there are candidates who can take over the captaincy and who are ready for the job. No point in just hanging around in the job. Not my style anyway,” he further said.

Speaking about what went through his mind after losing against Zimbabwe, Mathews said:

“After the loss I had a deep think about it. No doubt it was a bitter pill to swallow as we didn’t expect it. I was very very disappointed because I set myself and the team high standards. My personal opinion was that we needed a change. I felt that I needed to leave enough time for my successor to gel with the team on his way to the 2019 World Cup. That was the only thing in my mind. If I leave a year from now, it won’t be nice. This is the right time for the change. Whoever is going to lead the side, I will give my fullest support.”

Zimbabwe had arrived in Sri Lanka without a single win in the island nation and also without a single series win against their fancied opponents before breaking the duck against the Mathews-led side.

“It is very painful for me. I feel sorry for our supporters. No disrespect for Zimbabwe, they are such a fine team,” he added.

While Sri Lanka did not enjoy a good outing in the limited overs format under Mathews’ captaincy, they tasted rare success under him in the longest format of the game. In 2014, Mathews led the side from the front in their historic Test series triumph in England. Last year, they had inflicted a 3-0 whitewash on Australia.

In 2014, under Angelo Mathew’s captaincy, Sri Lanka won the two-match Test series 1-0 against England in England. Image Courtesy: Getty Images

“To win a series in England and to become the first captain to do so was fantastic. We won the Asia Cup as well just prior to that. Whitewashing Australia was equally special as we had only won one game against them previously,” said Mathews who had become Sri Lanka’s youngest captain at 25.

“I would like to thank Jesus for being with me during good and bad times and for blessing me abundantly. I would like to thank my family, my parents and my siblings. Past and present administrators, past and present selectors, my team. I have a long list. I would like to thank the public as well and the media,” he concluded.

Also Read: (Angelo Mathews stepped down as Sri Lank’s captain)

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