Mathews replaces Malinga as Sri Lanka T20 captain

Angelo Mathews has replaced Lasith Malinga as Sri Lanka’s captain for the World Twenty20 as the strike bowler continues to struggle with a knee injury.

Malinga played just one game in Sri Lanka’s Asia Cup campaign, where they finished second-bottom in the points table with just one win – over bottom side UAE.

Mathews has previously served as Sri Lanka skipper in all three formats. Only Tillakaratne Dilshan, Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara have scored more T20I runs than him.

Reports had suggested that Malinga may be forced to miss the tournament, but he remains in a squad that sees two changes from reigning champions Sri Lanka’s initial selection.

Batsman Lahiru Thirimanne and seamer Suranga Lakmal have replaced Niroshan Dickwella and Jeffrey Vandersay respectively.

Thirimanne especially was a surprise omission from the squad, having averaged 34.48 with four hundreds in ODI cricket since the start of last year.

The upheaval in Sri Lanka’s squad reflects a team surrounding the team ahead of their WT20 opener against a qualifier on March 17, with the legendary Sangakkara having been drafted onto the selection panel in a Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) shake-up on Monday.