Injured Mathews set to miss Australia tour

Colombo, Feb.6 (ANI): Sri Lanka skipper Angelo Mathews is all set to miss the upcoming T20 series against Australia after failing to recover fully from a hamstring injury he suffered last month.

The 29-year-old sustained the injury during Lanka’s three-wicket win over South Africa in the second T20 of the three-match series at the Wanderers. Subsequently, he was ruled out of the rest of the ongoing series.

While Dinesh Chandimal led the side in the final T20 match of that series, Upul Tharanga took the reins of the ODI side, ESPNcricinfo reported.

Confirming the news of Mathews’ absence, the Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) said that the selection committee would now meet on Tuesday to decide the squad as well as stand-in skipper for the three-match T20 series against Australia beginning February 17 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG).

“The team will arrive in Canberra on Monday the 13th,” the SLC statement further said.

Sri Lanka are also expected to play a practice T20 match in Canberra on February 15, before flying to Melbourne.