Angelo Mathews unlikely to play as an all-rounder v India

Sri Lanka will look upon Angelo Mathews when they face a strong Indian side in the upcoming Test matches. Mathews’ comeback from injury has been a major boost for the Islanders as he missed the previous series against Pakistan due to a calf injury. Mathews bowled just five overs in the two practice matches against the Board President’s XI.

Sri Lanka’s bowling coach Rumesh Ratnayake has said that veteran Mathews will not be bowling during the Tests against Virat Kohli’s side. “Angelo comes in as a batsman,” he told Cricbuzz, at the end of the practice match on Sunday. The visitors used as many as 14 bowlers during the game.

We consider Mathews as a white ball bowler: Ratnayake

Ratnayake added that they are basically looking to prolong his career after the all-rounder was sidelined on many occasions in the last one year due to injury.  He also said that Mathews will share the workload in limited overs cricket.”He has not bowled in a Test match for a while. I don’t think he will bowl here. We consider him more as a white-ball bowler and will look to bowl him in the ODIs only.”He has not bowled in a Test match for a while. I don’t think he will bowl here. We consider him more as a white-ball bowler and will look to bowl him in the ODIs only.”

The Lankans could not hone their skills back home due to persistent rain but they are set for the challenge.”We have done all that we could have done to prepare for this challenge,” Ratnayake said. “Now it’s all about executing our plans on the field. “Eden has always been a good track. It used to help seamers in the past. We will take a look at it tomorrow (Monday) and see what’s on offer.”