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Top 10 Little Known Facts about Angelo Mathews

One of the all-time greatest Sri Lankan cricketers is the batting all-rounder Angelo Mathews. Mathews has won over cricket fans all over the world while representing Sri Lanka.

The following are 10 little-known facts about Angelo Mathews.

1. He’s very similar to Muttiah Muralitharan

Mathews shares Tamil ancestry with his father Tyronne, just like the Sri Lankan spin-meister Muttiah Muralitharan. In the same way as Bollywood star Jacqueline Fernandez, his mother Monica is a Burgher.

2. He studied at  St Joseph’s College

Similarly to former Sri Lankan bowler Chaminda Vaas, Mathews attended St. Joseph’s College in Colombo.

3. He made a record-breaking stand with Lasith Malinga

LASITH MALINGA by NAPARAZZI from

Mathews was seen as a potential top all-around player before taking the captaincy. He moved from being a very talented young player to certainly one for the future in the course of one game. Sri Lanka stumbled to 107 for eight when pursuing 240 in the aforementioned match against Australia in Melbourne in 2010–11.

Then, Mathews and Lasith Malinga executed the most amazing comeback, scoring 132 runs for the ninth wicket. Their partnership outperformed Kapil Dev and Syed Kirmani’s attempts to put up the highest-ever ODI stand for the ninth wicket. On 77, Mathews still hadn’t lost.

4. He holds a unique record

Angelo Mathews by paddynapper from

Sri Lanka’s five ODI tour of India in late 2014 was captained by Mathews. India was playing under Virat Kohli while MS Dhoni was on rest. With Mathews scoring runs in each of the first four games of the series, India prevailed.

Mathews unleashed himself with some incredible hitting after being reduced to 85 for four. With 139 not out, he got his first and only ODI century. India sprinted to the mark as Kohli answered back with a score of 139 runs without being out. In an ODI, it was one of the very few times when both captains of the opposing teams achieved the exact same score.

5. He was the youngest-ever Test captain

Mathews became Sri Lanka’s youngest-ever Test skipper at the age of 25 years and 279 days, only behind Aravinda de Silva (25 years and 309 days).

6. He has a history of being the best captain

Captains by Naxalitewhirl from

Mathews rose to new heights as a captain in 2014. Sri Lanka played 12 ODIs under him, with 20 victories. With the exception of AB de Villiers, no other skipper achieved 10 victories that year.

7. He was selected as one of the top five cricketers by Wisden

When Mathews was selected as one of the five Wisden Cricketers of the Year in 2015, he joined the ranks of Moeen Ali, Gary Ballance, Adam Lyth, and Jeetan Patel.

8. He had famous celebrities as his witnesses at his wedding

In July 2013, Mathews tied the knot with his longtime love, Heshani Silva. Members of Sri Lanka’s cricket squad were among the famous people that attended the wedding.

The presence of Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa and Defense Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa as witnesses was one of the wedding’s most intriguing features!

9. Mathews has an impressive Test record

The bowling of Mathews, which is at best steady, has never been as well recognised as his batting. But in 2009, he bowled six for twenty to skittle India out for 168 at Colombo, displaying the full force of his bowling talent.

10. Mathews’ running between the wickets received harsh criticism

Mathews has participated in more run-outs than any other player in the past two years, according to Sri Lankan coach Chandika Hathurusinghe. Hathurusinghe said it was a world record because out of those 64, the batter at the other end was struck out 45 times or so.

Hathurusingha and the selection committee claimed that Mathews lacked the “cricket fitness” necessary to field for 50 overs and then efficiently run between the wickets. Sri Lanka was eliminated early from the 2018 Asia Cup when Mathews served as captain, and he played in three additional runs in the same way. As a result, he was dropped from the limited over squad and captaincy for England’s home series immediately following the series.

Due to his failure to sign the tour agreement with SLC for the limited overs series against India and his complaints about the management’s unethical treatment of the older players in the team, Mathews declared on 7 July 2021 that he is considering retiring from all forms of international cricket.

His decision was mostly influenced by the salary disagreement with the Sri Lanka Cricket Board as well as SLC’s plans to remove some seasoned players from the national side in limited overs matches in order to develop and give opportunities to the young players in preparation for the 2023 World Cup.