'Have been made the scapegoat' writes Angelo Mathews in resignation letter to Sri Lanka Cricket

After a shocking exit from the ongoing Asia Cup, Sri Lanka have ousted skipper Angelo Mathews from the captaincy. Sri Lanka suffered two back to back defeats against Bangladesh and Afghanistan in the group stage, knocking them out of the tournament before they could even reach the Super 4. Their batsmen particularly let them down after they were bundled out for sub-160 totals on both occasions. Sri Lanka Cricket therefore took the harsh decision to immediately sack Angelo Mathews from the captaincy after his side’s dismal outing in the UAE.

Batsman Dinesh Chandimal will take over from Mathews and will lead Sri Lanka in the upcoming home series against England. On the very day that Angelo Mathews was removed from the captaincy, he sent out a letter to SLC expressing his disappointment at the decision, and that he would step down as captain of Sri Lanka in the limited overs formats with immediate effect.

Mathews had led Sri Lanka from 2013 to 2017, before he was approached by coach Chandika Hathurusinghe to reconsider taking up the captaincy till the 2019 World Cup. Despite hesitations at first, Mathews agreed to lead Sri Lanka in early 2018. His side had a reasonable series against South Africa having won both Tests as well as the lone T20I. However, the Asia Cup exit was a shock for the nation, and despite Lasith Malinga’s return to the side, Sri Lanka were no match for Bangladesh and Afghanistan.

When he was asked to step down as captain, Angelo Mathews was initially surprised, but also felt as though he had been made ‘the scapegoat in the entire saga of Sri Lanka’s dismissals performances against Bangladesh and Afghanistan in the Asia Cup.

Betrayed if I’m the only one blamed: Mathews

The letter read, “I’m willing to take part of the blame but at the same time, feel betrayed and let down if the blame is solely put on me. As you know all decisions are taken tough the a mutual understanding with Selectors and the Head Coach. And though I do not agree with the reasoning that the losses should be carried single handedly to the Captaincy, I however eagerly and wholeheartedly respect the request of the selection committee and the head coach asking me to step down and do so with immediate effect.

“I wish to put it on record that though Sri Lanka had suffered these heavy defeats in the Asia Cup, which is shocking to say the least, especially in the backdrop where we had a reasonable series against South Africa, I had no intention of quitting and running away from the issues at hand especially owing to the World Cup being a dozen games away,” Mathews added.

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