The Sri Lankan team management roped in veteran all-rounder Angelo Mathews in the place of injured Matheesha Pathirana. Earlier, the Sri Lankan pacer suffered a shoulder injury while taking part in the game against Pakistan. The injury is so serious that it ruled the 20-year-old player out from taking part in subsequent games against Australia and the Netherlands.
Mathews has been a stalwart in Sri Lanka cricket and has a lot of experience when it comes to playing in World Cups. This will mark his fourth World Cup since his debut in the 2011 edition.
“The Event Technical Committee of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 has approved Angelo Mathews as a replacement for Matheesha Pathirana in the Sri Lanka squad,” read the statement from SLC.
“Mathews was named as a replacement after Pathirana failed to recover from a shoulder injury sustained during a warm-up match and was subsequently ruled out of the tournament,” the statement added.
Talking about his career, the 36-year-old has taken part in 221 ODIs for Sri Lanka, collecting 5865 runs with the help of three hundreds and 40 fifties. He has also scalped 120 wickets in the format, displaying his skills as an all-rounder.
Pathirana's injury was not the only one to affect the Sri Lankan squad as captain Dasun Shanaka was also ruled out and had to fly back home due to a quadriceps tear which is an injury that takes at least three weeks of recovery time. Star batter Kusal Mendis was handed over the leadership duties in the absence of Dasun Shanaka. Earlier, the island nation suffered a major setback as they came to India to take part in the ongoing World Cup, without the services of spinner Wanindu Hasaranga.
As of now, the Sri Lankan team have sealed victory in only one game in the four that they have played so far and will be playing against England next on October 26.