Angelo Mathews Relinquishes Sri Lanka Captaincy In All Three Formats After Defeat To Zimbabwe

Angelo Mathews on Tuesday relinquished the captaincy of Sri Lanka in all three formats after his team lost to Zimbabwe in the recently concluded One Day International (ODI) series. After the fifth and final ODI loss, Mathews had given signals that he will discuss his future with the selectors. He conveyed his decision to step down on Tuesday morning. Mathews had described his loss to Zimbabwe as one of the lowest points in his career. Following Mathews' resignation, Sri Lanka Cricket, on Wednesday, appointed Dinesh Chandimal as the Test captain while Upul Tharanga will lead the side in the limited-overs matches.

Zimbabwe edged out Sri Lanka by three wickets in the fifth one-day international on Monday to clinch their first overseas triumph in eight years. Taking the series 3-2, the 11th-ranked Zimbabwe team also registered their first series win in the South Asian nation.

Mathews met with chief selector Sanath Jayasuriya to discuss his future with the team before a one-off Test against Zimbabwe beginning Friday, said an official with Sri Lanka's cricket board. "He has quit the captaincy from all three forms of the game," the official said on condition on anonymity, referring to Test, one-day international and twenty20 formats of cricket.

Mathews described the shock defeat as a low point in his career and a "hard pill to swallow". It compounded woes for the struggling side, which entered the series without a coach after Graham Ford's sudden exit following their poor showing in the Champions Trophy last month. Sri Lanka's sports minister delivered the squad an ultimatum after that performance, ordering players get in shape or face the boot after declaring them unfit to compete on the world stage.

Earlier, head coach Graham Ford had resigned from his post following team's poor outing in the Champions Trophy 2017 in England and fielding coach Nic Pothas was handed the reigns for the Zimbabwe series.

Mathews captained Sri Lanka in 34 Tests, of which the team won 13 and lost 15. In ODIs, he won 47 and lost 46 while in T20Is he won four and lost seven.

(With AFP inputs)