Sri Lanka Cricket Captain Angelo Mathews has written a damning letter to Sri Lanka Cricket explaining the circumstances leading to his decision to step down from captaincy.
In the letter where Mathews says he will step down from captaincy as requested by national selected and the head coach, he also laments that the captain has been made a “scapegoat” for the team’s debacle in Asia Cup.
“I am willing to take part of the blame. At the same time, I feel betrayed and let down if the blame is solely put on me. As you know, all decisions are taken through a mutual understanding with selectors and the head coach,” Mathews said, in his letter, adding that he did not agree with the view that the losses should be accrued single-handedly to the captain.
Mathews, in his letter, also recalls that he voluntary stepped down from captaincy in July, 2017, in the best interests of the team.
He also says after the new Head Coach, Chandika Hathurusinghe, took up the position, the latter met with him in person and requested to take up captaincy until 2019 World Cup.
“Though myself, my family and close friends discouraged me in taking up the mantle, being confident in Hathurusinghe and his plans to elevate the performances of the Sri Lankan cricket team, and in the best interests of my country, I agreed to do so until the World Cup,” he explained.
“I had no intention to quitting and running away from the issues at hand, especially owing to the World Cup being a dozen of games away.”
“I will keep working hard in all aspects of the game and will be available to represent Sri Lanka at any given time, at my fullest. I also believe that if the selectors and the coach are of the view that I am until to play T20 and ODI cricket and thus not entitled for my place in the team, I will also consider retiring from T20 and ODI formats, as I never want to be a burden on the team,” he says.
However, in the letter, Mathews expresses confidence that he is fit enough to play cricket across all formats and has performed adequately over a period of time to hold his place in the team.
Mathews has also highlighted the fact that he was the highest scorer in Sri Lanka’s recent series against South Africa.
