Image Credit- Getty
This year, look forward to seeing more of Angelo
Mathews in Sri Lanka’s T20 team. You may anticipate seeing him bowl more often.
Expect Mathews to be somewhat motivated by resentment as well, given that he is
a late-career player returning to the white-ball frame after years of being
selected exclusively for Test matches.
Mathews appeared to criticise the previous group of
selectors, led by Pramodya Wickramasinghe, for adhering to their own
“agendas” after making his first T20I appearance in nearly three
years. Additionally, he added that he was part of the T20 World Cup plans of
the recently appointed selection panel, which was overseen by Upul Tharanga.
Nevertheless, Mathews contributed significantly to a
last-ball victory in his first international T20 match since March 2021,
topping the score with 46 off 38 balls. He had already bowled two overs for 13
runs with the new ball. He feels that his time in the white-ball wilderness
should have been shorter.
“In the last two Lanka Premier League (LPL)
seasons I batted and bowled well, but unfortunately I wasn’t selected for the
T20 World Cups, and I wasn’t given reasons for that,” he said after the
game, having picked up the Player-of-the-Match trophy. “If you take
decisions that are driven by agendas, these kinds of things can happen – we
haven’t even qualified for the Champions Trophy.
“But one thing I believe is that if you train and
play wholeheartedly, you can create an environment for yourself where you can
perform. I kept my efforts up over the last couple of years. I think I can play
for a little while longer.”
“The communication with me and the new selectors
is quite clear. They asked me what my plans were for the future and [told me]
their plans as well. We had a very good discussion. They said that I’m in their
plans for the T20 World Cup, and if I could bowl a few overs. I said:
‘Absolutely – if I can help the team in any way’.
“I’ve been bowling in the LPL as well, and you
saw me bowling in the [domestic] one-dayers as well recently. If I can bowl a
few overs that helps the balance of the team and the captain can decide whether
he wants to play an extra batter or a bowler.”