Former Sri Lanka captain Angelo Mathews will be playing his final Test against Bangladesh at Galle, starting Tuesday, June 17 and he got a very special message from his colleague and one of India's best white-ball captains, Rohit Sharma. Rohit, who has played against Mathews from just Under-19 days, wished Mathews his best before his final Test match and acknowledged, what he has been able to achieve for Sri Lanka in the format.
“Hey Angie, congratulations on your fantastic Test career. Tomorrow is your last Test match, I just want to wish you and the team the very best," Rohit was seen saying in a video published by Newswire. "Over the years we've had really good battles right from our under-19 days till now. You’ve been a true servant to your nation and I’m pretty sure everyone back at home appreciates what you’ve done for your country.
"It is something which is not been achieved by many people, what you have achieved, so congratulations again on that and moving forward I just want to wish you also and your family the very very best. Happy retirement, enjoy it and we'll see you on the other side, bro. All the best," Rohit added.
Not having a Test match to play for a year big reason of Mathews' decision
Mathews is the third-highest run-scorer for Sri Lanka in Tests (8,167) after Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara and will be keen to add a few more to his tally in his farewell game and, more importantly, finish on a high with a win. Sri Lanka missed their chances in the last World Test Championship (WTC) cycle to make it to the final after losing 0-2 to South Africa (away) and Australia (home) and will be keen to do it right this time around.
Sri Lanka don't play a Test match until next June after the Bangladesh series and that was one of the big reasons why Mathews decided to call it a day. "The main reason is that we don't have many games coming up. After this, our next Test assignment is a year away. That's a very long time.
"I thought it's best to give an opportunity to the one replacing me in the second Test match because he's not going to get another chance till next year. And in a year, you never know what could happen. So I thought I'll play one game and then step aside to let the other guy have his opportunity," Mathews said at the pre-match press conference. Bangladesh won the toss and elected to bat first and would want to utilise the fresh conditions to put up a big score.