Angelo Mathews officially announces shock white-ball RETIREMENT plans

The 38-year-old Sri Lanka National Cricket Team all-rounder Angelo Mathews has announced that he intends to retire from white-ball cricket after the conclusion of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026, which will be co-hosted by India and Sri Lanka.

Angelo Mathews' white-ball retirement will officially end his career as an international cricketer because the Sri Lankan is also set to retire from Test cricket after featuring in the Test series opener against Bangladesh, which will commence on June 17.

The main reason is that we don't have many games coming up - Angelo Mathews

All-rounder Angelo Mathews is a veteran of 118 Test matches, and he has surprisingly extended his career very well, establishing himself as one of the all-time greats of Sri Lankan Cricket.

SHORTS

View More

Your daily dose of cricket!

Loading...

He has amassed 8167 runs in Test cricket at an average of 44.62, with 16 tons and 45 fifties. With the ball, he has not been as successful as he has been in his white-ball career, as he has bagged just 33 Test wickets at an average of 54.48, an economy of 2.71, and a strike rate of 120.5.

Speaking to reporters a day before the commencement of the Test series between Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, Angelo Mathews said that retiring from red-ball cricket at the same venue (Galle International Stadium) where he made his debut in 2009 and played his 100th Test is a pleasant coincidence.

He added that one of the key reasons behind stepping away from Test cricket after the series opener is the lack of red-ball matches Sri Lanka play. He elaborated (as quoted by Cricbuzz):

"It's a coincidence. I had my debut in Galle. I played my 100th Test in Galle. And I'm going to say goodbye in Galle. The main reason is that we don't have many games coming up. After this, our next Test assignment is a year away. That's a very long time.

"I thought it's best to give an opportunity to the one replacing me in the second Test match because he's not going to get another chance till next year. And in a year, you never know what could happen. So I thought I'll play one game and then step aside to let the other guy have his opportunity."

There are six more months until the next T20 World Cup - Angelo Mathews

Angelo Mathews, who has scored 1416 runs and bagged 45 wickets in T20Is, further said that he will be working very hard on his fitness to give himself a chance to feature in the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026 and retire entirely from cricket after that event. He elaborated:

"There are six more months until the next T20 World Cup, and I'll give it a try depending on what my body tells me. I hope to retire from white-ball cricket at that World Cup. If we can win another World Cup, I'll try to contribute toward that. So I'll do everything I can to improve my fitness and skills over the next six months.

"I'm quite happy. I couldn't bowl much since 2016 because, from 2008 to 2015, I was playing in all formats as an all-rounder. That eventually took a toll on my body because I didn't care much about workload management. I was captain at the time and wanted to contribute in every single game. Bat, ball, and field. But I didn't manage my body well. Obviously, it took a huge toll on me. But I have no regrets because I tried to give my best to my country and my team."

The future looks bright - Sri Lanka

Angelo Mathews also opined that the future of Sri Lanka Cricket looks very bright because the inclusion of Sanath Jayasuriya and Upul Tharanga in the setup has brought the team immense success. He said:

"The future looks bright. Since Sanath (Jayasuriya) took over, and Upul Tharanga and his team came in, the communication has been excellent. Whether it's seniors, juniors, or anyone else, they always communicated with us. That matters.

"Communication is key to having a good environment and performance will follow. We've seen that. We've done extremely well in Test matches. We even had a chance to be in the WTC final. And in ODIs and T20s, we've done very well in the last two years"

Also Read: Watch: Haris Rauf shows nonsense aggression in MLC 2025, tries to intimidate Tajinder Singh