Angelo Mathews was seen practicing in the nets via his social media and the Sri Lankan fans were only hopeful that he would be a last minute inclusion to the T20 World Cup. This is the first ICC event he will not be taking part in and his absence was a big question among the fans.
The former captain of the Sri Lankan cricket team made has been noticeably absent from the Sri Lankan national team and even once came back home from the West Indies tour last year to due personal reasons. Many months later, he was seen campaigning for a cause that is close to his heart, the “Little Hearts” fundraising project and was part of an E-Sports promotional campaign.
Angelo Mathews without question, an oustanding finisher and match winning all-rounders for Sri Lanka for 15 years. Mathews is a player with 13,000 runs across all 3 formats and has 191 wickets before focusing on his batting. However, he has done wonders with the ball as well as with the bat. His fighting spirit as a cricketer is world-class and as a captain, will be remembered for defeating England on their home soil in 2014.
Looking at the present, we see news such as Virat Kohli deciding to step down as the T20 captain of India and Ben Stokes announcing that he is taking an indefinite break from cricket due to mental health reasons. This includes Mathews, who hasn’t publicly stated why he is unavailable for the national team but when there were rumours saying he is retiring from cricket, he openly denied those claims. What can we conclude from this?
It is without question players of Mathew’s caliber are expected to maintain their reputation as match winners. To throw the kitchen sink at everything that comes their way when the chips are down or to hang in with the tail and see through the Innings, regardless of the format they play. They have set the standards so high that if the team loses, they are the first to take the blame (including Kohli and Stokes).
Mathews is a husband and proud father with 2 daughters. The covid situation for cricketers forces them to stay away from their families for a prolonged period of time. If family matters and mental health is concerned, sportsmen suffer a lot in being away from their families and deciding whether they want to be a better parent their child wants to see or the match-winner the fans want to see. The latter is very difficult to maintain.
It is true that Mathews is a very valuable player in the team but if they don’t focus on what matters to them the most, how can they perform as better cricketers? Do cricketers exist purely for the entertainment purposes of the fans? The fans need to understand this and let him take a break from cricket till he gets back on his feet and comes back mentally strong.
AS@srilankasports
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