Sri Lanka’s limited overs skipper Angelo Mathews’ relation with injuries seems to be continuing a bit longer  as once again he has been ruled out of the Nidahas Trophy tri-nation 2018 due to a calf injury. Mathews has played just one match since being reappointed as Sri Lanka’s skipper in January before returning home from Bangladesh with a hamstring injury.

Angelo has been doing rehabilitation in Colombo to get fit for the forthcoming series but sustained a calf injury during training which has now ruled him out of the competition. As per the reports in Cricbuzz, one of the sources from Sri Lanka cricket said, “Angelo has been putting in a lot of effort to make himself available for the Nidahas Trophy. He has worked tremendously hard to be fit after being given a strenuous programme to follow. Unfortunately, during one of the training sessions, he ended up hurting his calf.”

Also read: Sri Lanka To Go With Angelo Mathews As Their ODI Skipper

While the injury is not serious, Mathews hasn’t been permitted by the SLC medical staff to prove his fitness. The four players who were racing against time to be fit – Mathews, Nuwan Pradeep, Kusal Janith Perera and Dushmantha Chameera – were told to play the current domestic T20 competition to prove their fitness. While the other three did, Mathews wasn’t able to represent his teammates.

Angelo Mathews couldn’t go through fitness tests

While Perera and Pradeep have been given a green signal to play, Chameera will have to go through a fitness test later on Tuesday (February 27). Test skipper Dinesh Chandimal, who successfully led the side to series wins in Bangladesh in ODIs and T20s in the absence of Mathews, is expected to be leading the team during the tri-nation competition.

Also read: Angelo Mathews calls Indian pacers world class

Mathews has had a series of injuries on his lower body since January 2017. The all-rounder returned home early from a tour of South Africa after a hurting his calf muscle. He missed the series against Australia and Bangladesh in 2017 before coming back to the squad during Champions Trophy. He also missed the tour to UAE for the series against Pakistan in September with a hamstring injury.

The Nidahas Trophy gets underway on March 6 with Sri Lanka taking on India at R. Premadasa Stadium.