Background & Latest News on Angelo Mathews
Veteran Sri Lankan all-rounder Angelo Mathews marked his final Test appearance against Bangladesh in Galle (June 17–21, 2025) as part of the opening match of the ICC World Test Championship 2025–27 cycle dailynews.lk+15m.economictimes.com+15srilankacricket.lk+15.
Guard of Honour & Tributes 💐
Before walking onto the Galle pitch one final time, Mathews was honored with a heartfelt guard of honour by teammates. The emotional scene, widely shared via video, underscored his decades-long impact on Sri Lankan cricket sportskeeda.com+2hindustantimes.com+2cricket.one+2.
Rohit Sharma’s Tribute
Indian skipper Rohit Sharma (also recently retired from Tests) sent a touching video message, reminiscing about battles with Mathews since their U19 days, calling him a “true servant” of Sri Lankan cricket sports.ndtv.com+1indianexpress.com+1.
Mathews Speaks Out: Test Scheduling & Retirement Plans
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Test Match Disparity: Ahead of his farewell Test, Mathews expressed concern over Sri Lanka’s limited number of Test matches (just 12 across six two-match series in WTC 2025–27), pointing out a disparity with cricketing powerhouses like India and Australia srilankacricket.lk+10adaderana.lk+10timesofindia.indiatimes.com+10.
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White‑Ball Focus: Though stepping away from Test cricket, Mathews plans to remain active in white-ball formats and aims to retire after the 2026 T20 World Cup, pending fitness timesofindia.indiatimes.com+3cricbuzz.com+3cricket.com+3.
Legacy & Key Statistics
In Test cricket, Mathews leaves a formidable legacy:
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118 Tests, 8,167 runs at an average of 44.62, with 16 centuries/45 fifties cricket.one+4hindustantimes.com+4cricket.one+4.
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Third-highest Test run-getter for Sri Lanka, behind Sangakkara and Jayawardene, and among only seven SL cricketers with 100+ Tests srilankacricket.lk+15hindustantimes.com+15sportskeeda.com+15.
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Notable feats include his maiden century in Australia (105*) in 2011, the 2014 England Test series victory, leading Test captaincy and a double-century vs Zimbabwe in 2020.
What’s Next for Angelo?
Mathews plans to help usher in the next generation:
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Supporting Youth Transition: He felt it was time to step aside to let emerging players take Test spots, especially given Sri Lanka's sparse Test calendar cricket.onesrilankacricket.lk+1timesofindia.indiatimes.com+1.
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White-Ball Ambitions: He’s targeting the 2026 T20 World Cup as his final stage in international cricket, conditioning pending cricbuzz.com+1cricket.com+1.