COLOMBO: Sri Lanka limited-overs captain Angelo Mathews has been ruled out of next month’s tri-nation Twenty20 tournament after failing to recover from a hamstring injury, the country’s cricket board said on Tuesday.

The hosts will be led by Dinesh Chandimal in the series starting March 6 at Colombo’s R. Premadasa Stadium. India and Bangladesh are the other two teams.

Sri Lanka Cricket announced a 20-man preliminary squad that will be cropped to 15 on Wednesday.

“Angelo Mathews was not considered for selection as he is still recovering from the injury he suffered during the concluded Tri-Nation Series in Bangladesh,” the board said in a release.

Mathews, 30, was in January named as Sri Lanka’s captain in the shorter format until the 2019 World Cup.

But the all-rounder has been beset by injuries and has led the side in just a single One-day International, against Zimbabwe in Dhaka last month.

Meanwhile, Bangladesh interim coach Courtney Walsh said on Tuesday he would be pushing his side for consistency in upcoming series after a string of poor finishes.

“If we can get consistent, we will be happy. It is going to be the biggest challenge and it is something that I will be stressing on a lot,” he told reporters.

The competition, which has been organised to mark Sri Lanka’s 70th independence anniversary, will run from March 6-18 in Colombo.

Published in Dawn, February 28th, 2018