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Angelo Mathews is among the finest cricketers to have represented Sri Lanka. (AP Photo)
Angelo Mathews has achieved a major milestone in his international career, becoming just the third Sri Lankan to do so.
Sri Lanka veteran cricketer Angelo Mathews has reached another milestone in his storied career. The allrounder, who made his international debut in 2008, continues to be a regular fixture for Sri Lanka in Tests and ODIs while he made his T20I comeback earlier this year in what is being seen as revival of his white-ball career.
On Thursday, as he took the field against New Zealand in Galle for his 114th Test, Mathews became only the third Sri Lankan in history to have played as many as 200 matches at the international level at home. Mahela Jayawardene (249 matches) and Kumar Sangakkara (235) are the other two Sri Lankans to do so.
Only 16 players including Sachin Tendulkar, Allan Border, Virat Kohli, MS Dhoni, Ricky Ponting, James Anderson among others have featured in 200 or more matches at home before Mathews.
| Name | Career Span | Matches at Home (Test+ODI+T20I) |
| Allan Border | 1978-1994 | 263 |
| Sachin Tendulkar | 1990-2013 | 258 |
| Mahela Jayawardene | 1997-2014 | 249 |
| Ricky Ponting | 1995-2012 | 249 |
| Steve Waugh | 1985-2004 | 242 |
| Kumar Sangakkara | 2000-2015 | 235 |
| Jacques Kallis | 1995-2013 | 234 |
| Mushfiqur Rahim | 2006-Till Date | 229 |
| Mark Boucher | 1998-2012 | 219 |
| Virat Kohli | 2009-Till Date | 219 |
| Shakib Al Hasan | 2006-Till Date | 217 |
| Ross Taylor | 2006-2022 | 210 |
| Chris Gayle | 2000-2021 | 204 |
| James Anderson | 2003-2024 | 203 |
| MS Dhoni | 2005-2019 | 202 |
| Tim Southee | 2008-Till Date | 201 |
| Angelo Mathews | 2009-Till Date | 200 |
Mathews has close to 7000 runs and taken over 200 wickets across formats so far (the current Test against New Zealand excluded).
Earlier this year in January, Mathews had blamed former Sri Lanka selectors for stalling his T20I career.
“In the last two Lanka Premier League seasons I batted and bowled well, but unfortunately I wasn’t selected for the T20 World Cups, and I wasn’t given reasons for that. If you take decisions that are driven by agendas, these kinds of things can happen – we haven’t even qualified for the Champions Trophy,” Mathews had said.
“But one thing I believe is that if you train and play wholeheartedly, you can create an environment for yourself where you can perform. I kept my efforts up over the last couple of years. I think I can play for a little while longer,” he added.
