Sri Lanka defeated Zimbabwe in the first T20I by three wickets chasing down 144 runs in the last-ball thriller on Sunday (January 14). Playing for the first time in the format since 2021, Angelo Mathews starred with the bat scoring 46 runs off 38 balls and also won the player of the match award for bailing the team out of the precarious situation where they were reduced to 83/6 in 14 overs. Perhaps, at one stage, Sri Lanka needed 59 runs to win off 34 balls with only four wickets in hand.
But former captains - Mathews and Dasun Shanaka - stitched a vital partnership of 55 runs to take the team home off the last ball. Mathews has now hit out at the former selectors headed by Pramoda Wickramasinghe for keeping him away from white-ball cricket since 2021 for their 'agendas'. He alleged them of not picking him in the side despite doing well in the Lanka Premier League (LPL) with both bat and ball. For the unversed, Mathews wasn't picked in the ODI World Cup squad last year as well but had to be included after a spate on injuries hit the side.
"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. If you take decisions that are driven by agendas, these kinds of things can happen - we haven't even qualified for the Champions Trophy," Mathews said after the match. However, the 36-year-old is now happy with the new selection panel under Upul Tharanga's leadership as they communicated with him well and cleared their plans while also understanding his view.
"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," the veteran cricketer added. With T20 World Cup only a few months away, Mathews, now looking extremely fit, is looking forward to feature in the mega event as an all-rounder and if he stays away from injury, it could be a major boost for Sri Lanka.
