Sri Lanka drop Mathews for England ODIs

COLOMBO, Sept 26 (AFP): Sri Lanka's sacked skipper Angelo Mathews was dropped on Wednesday from the ODI and T20 squads against England after he accused the board of making him a scapegoat for the team's Asia Cup debacle.

The board said it asked Mathews to step down and allow Dinesh Chandimal to lead Sri Lanka against England in all three formats of the game.

The 31-year-old all-rounder was not included in the 15-man squad for the five one-day internationals and the one-off T20 against England beginning on October 10.

Cricket officials said fitness concerns forced them to drop Mathews. However, he was retained in the Test squad, officials said.

Sri Lanka squad: Dinesh Chandimal, Upul Tharanga, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Niroshan Dikwella, Dhananjaya de Silva, Dasun Shanaka, Thisara Perera, Akila Dhananjaya, Dushmantha Chameera, Lasith Malinga, Amila Aponso, Lakshan Sandakan, Nuwan Pradeep, Kasun Rajitha and Kusal Perera.