Mathews and Chameera join as travelling reserves for World Cup remainder

On Thursday, Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) confirmed that 35-year-old all-rounder Angelo Mathews and 31-year-old Dusmantha Chameera will join the national team at the 2023 ICC ODI World Cup. The two will join the team as travelling reserves, with Sri Lanka suffering a bout of injuries, including to their skipper, Dasun Shanaka, who was ruled out of the competition earlier. 

“Sri Lanka Cricket wishes to announce that Angelo Mathews and Dushmantha Chameera will join the team in India as traveling reserves,” announced the cricketing board. 

However, the board also mentioned that the two would only be brought into the setup in case of further injuries to someone from the squad. Chameera was earlier set to be part of the 15-man squad for the World Cup but did not recover in time to be included in the squad. 

“The Sri Lanka Cricket Selectors took this decision in order to ensure that the team has ready replacements in place to face contingencies, such as an injury to an existing squad member,” it added.”

“Accordingly, Mathews and Chameera will join the team tomorrow.”

Sri Lanka are yet to win a clash in the 2023 ODI World Cup, with losses against South Africa, Pakistan and Australia. Their next clash will be against the Netherlands, with the match set to be played in Lucknow on October 21 (Saturday).