MATHEWS QUITS
Angelo Mathews steps down as Sri Lanka captain
Angelo Mathews has stepped down as Sri Lanka captain in all three formats after his team's shocking ODI series defeat to Zimbabwe on Monday.
After the fifth and final ODI against Zimbabwe at Suriyawewa, which the hosts lost by three wickets, Mathews had indicated that he will discuss his future with the selectors. He conveyed his decision to step down on Tuesday (July 11) morning. Cricbuzz understands that Dinesh Chandimal is the front-runner to take over from Mathews.
Only recently, head coach Graham Ford stepped down from his post after the team's poor outing in the 2017 Champions Trophy in England. Consequently, team's fielding coach Nic Pothas was handed the reigns for the Zimbabwe series.
Groomed from a young age to captaincy, Mathews led the posh St. Joseph's College in Colombo before leading Sri Lanka Under-19 successfully. He then captained Sri Lanka 'A' and became the country's youngest Test captain at the age of 25 when he succeeded Mahela Jayawardene in 2013. He was Sri Lanka's first non-Buddhist captain in 25 years after Duleep Mendis.
Prior to being appointed as Test captain, Mathews had led Sri Lanka in ODIs and T20Is.
Mathews missed out on quite a bit of cricket this year after injuring himself during the tour of South Africa. He missed the five-match ODI series in South Africa, which Sri Lanka lost 5-0 and the T20I series in Australia. He also missed the home series against Bangladesh and returned to the side for Champions Trophy 2017.
Mathews captained Sri Lanka in 34 Tests, of which the team won 13 and lost 15. In ODIs, he won 47 and lost 46 while in T20Is he won four and lost seven.
The highlight of Mathews' captaincy was Sri Lanka whitewashing Australia 3-0 in a Test series last year.
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