Sri Lanka captain Angelo Mathews resigns after series defeat to Zimbabwe

Colombo: Angelo Mathews on Tuesday resigned as the captain of Sri Lankan team in all three formats of Cricket after his team suffered a shocking 2-3 ODI series defeat at the hands of Zimbabwe on Monday.

After losing the series decider by three-wickets at Suriyawewa, Mathews had hinted that he will talk to the selectors about his future with the team.

He informed about his decision on Tuesday morning, while Dinesh Chandimal is being looked as the front-runner to take over the reins.

Mathews' decision would have come as a shock as very recently, team's head coach Graham Ford had stepped down after the team's poor performance in the 2017 ICC Champions Trophy in England. After his departure, the team’s responsibility was handed over to fielding coach Nic Pothas for the Zimbabwe series.

Angelo Mathews has been captaining his teams ever since his school days. He first led the posh St. Joseph's College team in Colombo before going on to captain Sri Lanka Under-19 squad. He was later named the skipper of Sri Lanka A, and in 2013, he became the youngest Sri Lankan to lead the Test side at the age of 25. He had succeeded Mahela Jayawardene in 2013.

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Before being named the Test skipper, Mathews had been given the charge of Sri Lankan team in ODIs and T20Is.

Mathews has been mostly away from Cricket this year after he injured his leg during the South Africa tour. He could not participate in the five-match ODI series against Proteas which Sri Lanka lost 0-5 and the T20I series in Australia.

He also could not play in the home series against Bangladesh and came back into the squad for the Champions Trophy 2017.

Angelo Mathews led Sri Lanka in 34 Tests of which his team lost 13 and lost 15. In ODIs, he led his team to 47 wins while suffered 46 defeats. In T20Is, he won four and lost seven.