Sri Lanka Test captain Dinesh Chandimal informed that Lankan all-rounder Angelo Mathews has been ruled out from the first of two Test matches against host Bangladesh, starting Wednesday.
Mathews suffered an injury during the first ODI of the tri-nation series against Zimbabwe on January 17 and later missed the entire tournament. Mathews scored 42 off 64 balls in that match which Sri Lanka eventually lost by 12 runs. Mathews returned to Sri Lanka after the injury and has not returned yet.
When captain Chandimal was asked about his availability, the captain ruled him out from the opening Test.
“For the first game Angelo is not available,” said Chandimal to the media during the pre-Test press conference in the port city’s Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Cricket Stadium Tuesday.
Mathews scored 524 runs in 18 innings at an average of 29.11 in Test cricket last year.
Bangladesh are also missing their star performer and Test captain Shakib al Hasan due to injury. Mahmudullah will lead the side in the first Test.