Sri Lanka’s captain Angelo Mathews is set to miss the two-match Test series against Bangladesh following his hamstring injury, which the player picked up during the second Twenty20 International (T20I) against South Africa in Johannesburg. The news, which has been confirmed by Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC), comes after the captain was forced to be absent even for the T20I series in Australia, due to the same injury. According to the selection committee sources, the role of captaincy will be given to the terrific left arm spinner Rangana Herath, for the time being. FULL CRICKET SCORECARD: Bangladesh vs Sri Lanka, 1st Test at Galle

Speaking on the situation to Cricbuzz, Mathews said that he is very disappointed at the turn of events as the doctors gave him a negative reply saying they need to take a further look in four weeks’ time to decide on Mathews’ return to the game. “I was told last night that it will now take a few more weeks. Now the target for me is somewhere during the one-day series. Let’s see how the rehab goes. I am working on it’” he said. “I twisted my ankle as well, but that’s fine. The problem is with my hamstring,” the skipper added.

Mathews seems to be going on an injury-stricken phase, as earlier in 2016 he was dropped off the Zimbabwe tour after he tore his calf muscle in the fourth ODI against Australia in August. Herath then took over the captaincy, becoming the oldest player in the history of Sri Lankan cricket, at 38, to captain a Test side. Bangladesh tour of Sri Lanka 2017: SLC announces schedule

Dinesh Chandimal, who had led the team in the T20I finals against South Africa, was dropped for the upcoming One-Day International (ODI) series. Meanwhile, Upal Tharanga, who led the team to victory with a 2-1 win in the Australia series, has been announced as the vice captain for the five-match ODI series.

The Bangladesh team will start their tour with a two-day warm-up match in Moratuwa before they play two Tests in Galle and Colombo, starting March 7. Mathews is expected to return for the limited-overs leg in Dambulla (two ODIs) and Colombo (three ODIs). The two teams then play two T20Is in Colombo.

(CC)