Angelo Mathews Set for Test Farewell as Sri Lanka Announce Squad for Bangladesh Tour

Just two days before the series begins, Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) has named its 18 player squad for the upcoming two-Test series against Bangladesh. This series marks the start of the 2025–27 World Test Championship (WTC) cycle. Bangladesh had already announced their 16-member squad, with Najmul Hossain Shanto continuing as captain.

Mathews to Retire After First Test

A big moment in the series will be the farewell of Sri Lankan veteran Angelo Mathews, who will retire from Test cricket after the first match in Galle. Mathews, who debuted in 2009 as an all-rounder, has become the third-highest run-scorer in Sri Lanka’s Test history. Over the years, he shifted his focus to batting and surpassed legends like Sanath Jayasuriya and Marvan Atapattu in the run charts during his 16-year Test career.

Fresh Faces in Sri Lanka Squad

Sri Lanka have included six uncapped players in the squad: Lahiru Udara, Pasindu Sooriyabandara, Sonal Dinusha, Pawan Rathnayake, Tharindu Ratnayake, and Isitha Wijesundara. Lahiru Kumara was also named initially but had to withdraw due to injury.

Following their 0–2 defeat to Australia, Sri Lanka has made several changes. Five players Sadeera Samarawickrama, Ramesh Mendis, Nishan Peiris, Vishwa Fernando, and Jeffrey Vandersay have been left out. With former skipper Dimuth Karunaratne recently retiring from Tests, Sri Lanka will also look to fill the gap at the top of the batting order.

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Sri Lanka vs Bangladesh 2025 Tour Schedule

Sri Lanka Test Squad vs Bangladesh

Pathum NissPATHanka, Oshada Fernando, Lahiru Udara, Dinesh Chandimal, Angelo Mathews, Dhananjaya de Silva (Captain), Kusal Mendis, Kamindu Mendis, Pasindu Sooriyabandara, Sonal Dinusha, Pawan Rathnayake, Prabath Jayasuriya, Tharindu Ratnayake, Akila Dananjaya, Milan Rathnayake, Asitha Fernando, Kasun Rajitha, Isitha Wijesundara.

Going from 54-4 to 312 is tough work. When Dhananjaya De Silva joined Angelo Mathews, the Sri Lankan innings was threatening to derail quickly to some good pace bowling from Naseem Shah and Shaheen Shah Afridi. The Sri Lankan batting though, known for some really strong characters in the previous eras are finally finding peace with the new characters that they have backed for a good decade.

To save them at Galle, Dhananjaya De Silva, one of Sri Lanka’s most stylish cricketers at the moment kept the cool with him as he calmly took the game on and put pressure back on Pakistan. At the other end, he had Angelo Mathews, who was once seen as the next big thing for Sri Lanka before injuries and issues with the board hampered his progress. Mathews though stands happy still as he has completed 100 Tests and is in pretty good form at the moment.

Coming back to the star of the innings though, Dhananjaya De Silva has found his magic in artistry different from the flamboyance of the Sanath Jayasuriya’s and batters with signature shots like Kumar Sangakkara, with his cover drive. He has found his own way to look easy on the eye while making the tough runs, sometimes at rates that could look ugly.

While the start of an innings is the toughest phase for any batter, Dhananjaya De Silva finds that phase a lot tougher given the number of chances he often gives while looking for comfort. After getting in though, the ease with which Dhananjaya De Silva bats is as pleasing as ever. Throughout his knock, De Silva was confident in hooking and pulling the pacers while he also unleashed the sweep pretty well at the Galle, which is known to favor the spinners very well.

De Silva eased his way to a century, batting for a fair part with the tail, something he often does, and once again proved to be the savior of the batting line-up. While he did save the side, which is something he does often, De Silva and co will be a lot more pleased looking at the batters in front of him. Despite the top-order collapse, recent performances from Dinesh Chandimal and Angelo Mathews would keep the Sri Lankans happy. Their middle-order pillars are slowly looking solid again and Dimuth Karunaratne too has been as good as ever at the top in the last year. With Dhananjaya De Silva doing his job as well down the order the Sri Lankan batting is now starting to look a lot more stronger.