Published: Oct 31, 2017, 10:08 PM (IST)
Edited: Oct 31, 2017, 10:08 PM (IST)
Sri Lanka‘s former skipper Angelo Mathews is set to return for the upcoming India tour, starting November. Mathews had been nursing a grade-one tear to his calf muscle and had missed out on the Pakistan tour in UAE. Adding more woes to Sri Lanka’s wounds, Kusal Perera and Asela Gunaratne. who were suffering from hamstring and thumb injuries respectively, are also deemed fit and will be considered for selection. Sri Lanka tour India for three Tests, ODIs and T20Is.
“Angelo and Kusal Janith (Perera) have both recovered and they will be considered for selection for the Indian series. Asela Gunaratne is fit as well”, SLC CEO Ashley De Silva told Cricbuzz.
Sri Lanka have been facing a downward spiral since 2017. They were whitewashed in Tests and ODIs in South Africa. They fought hard against Bangladesh at home, and lost while hosting Zimbabwe in ODIs. Their dismal run continued in ICC Champions Trophy.
India toured Sri Lanka in August, September and whitewashed them across formats. The only respite for the Lankans was the 2-0 Test series win over Pakistan. However, they again faltered in coloured clothings. They lost both ODI and T20I series without winning a single match.
Pothas has certainly had enough
“It’s pretty obvious what the mood will be like when you’ve lost 16 games. With respect to new faces, that’s a conversation that we need to have with the selectors. But I think it stands to reason that in any walk of life, when you’ve had negative results for a period of time you need to see some change somewhere.
On the Test series, let me remind you that we made history. We did something that no other nation has ever done in the UAE. It tends to have been forgotten due to the fact that ODIs follow the Tests. But we have to give huge credit to the team and to the captain.
Overall across the whole tour we can certainly glean a lot of positives. The fielding has improved out of sight and certainly was one of the shining lights throughout the month that we were out there. And the bowling as well was of a very high standard; the execution of the plans was very pleasing.
Obviously, some of the batting didn’t go according to plan, but that’s the cricket world and other teams are allowed to play well. It was also one of the best bowling attacks in the world so it’s always going to be tough, but I think on the whole the series started off very well with that Test win. Certainly the attitude, the character and the fight shown by that team was very, very pleasing”, stated head coach Nic Pothas.
