Amid Retirement Talks Angelo Mathews Pulls Out Of The India White-Ball Series

Veteran Sri Lankan all-rounder Angelo Mathews has pulled out of the upcoming ODI and T20I series against India citing personal reasons.

The Sri Lankan board [SLC] revealed the same while announcing that 29 out of 30 players selected for the three ODIs and as many T20Is against India have signed the central contract.

Angelo Mathews last featured for Sri Lanka in a Test match against Bangladesh in April. The all-rounder alongside other senior players like Dimuth Karunaratne and Dinesh Chandimal were dropped for the white-ball assignments against Bangladesh and England.

“Sri Lanka Cricket wishes to announce that 29 players, out of the 30 members nominated by the Cricket Selectors to be considered for the White-Ball Series against India, have signed the Tour Contract,” said the SLC in a statement.

“Angelo Mathews, who was included in the respective 30-member squad, requested Sri Lanka Cricket to relieve him from National Duties, owing to personal reasons, until further notice.” the statement.

That said, sources have claimed that Angelo Mathews and Test captain Karunaratne were excluded from the contract list that was offered on Wednesday.

According to reports in Sri Lankan media, Mathews has written to the SLC administration stating that he is considering retirement from international cricket and a final announcement could be well on its way in the forthcoming days.

Sources have claimed that the SLC on Wednesday, offered contracts on the basis of each tour.

The player, who had initially refused to sign the contracts, eventually did the needful on Wednesday after they were given a July 08 deadline.

“There will be no annual contracts as the immediate need was to sign players for the series against India,” he said.

The India-Sri Lanka limited-overs series will kickstart with the three-match ODI rubber in Colombo from July 13.

Also Read- Reports: Angelo Mathews Mulling Retirement From International Cricket