Rohit Sharma congratulates Angelo Mathews ahead of farewell Test: ‘Had some great battles since our U19 days'
Sri Lanka veteran Angelo Mathews is playing his final Test match and former India captain Rohit Sharma sent him a heartfelt message before that. Mathews posted a video on his Instagram stories in which Rohit can be seen congratulating him 0n his career. He is calling time on a career, that has spanned 118 Test matches, in Galle, which is also where he had made his debut in the format and played his 100th Test as well. 'Hey Angie, congratulations on your fantastic career,' said Rohit, who had announced his own Test retirement on May 7.
'Over the years we had some pretty good battles from our under-19 days to now. You've been a true servant for your nation and I'm pretty sure everyone back at home appreciates what you've done for your country,' Rohit said.
Mathews admitted that part of the reason why he decided to play only the first of the two-match Test series against Bangladesh was because of the lack of long-form cricket for Sri Lanka this year. Sri Lanka will be playing just four Tests in 2025 – their lowest number of Tests in a calendar year since 2013 outside of the Covid-curtailed 2020.
Mathews said that the younger players are urging for more Test matches. 'I think it's quite sad to be honest,' he said before the match. 'I mean, the younger generation are urging for more Test cricket. Test cricket is obviously the pinnacle of cricket. We all should push for more Tests. These guys are so enthusiastic about Test cricket.
'I feel there has to be a minimum of 10 matches at least [in a year]. Teams like England, India or Australia are playing 15-plus games a year. Why can't we play? We can. If we keep pushing, I mean, we have to. We have won World Cups. We have done so much for cricket as a nation, and we deserve to play Test cricket, just like Australia, India and England,' he said.
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