Angelo Mathews’ brother: ‘Stones will be thrown at Shakib Al Hasan if he tries to play in Sri Lanka’

Sri Lankan cricketer Angelo Mathews’ brother on Wednesday said Bangladeshi skipper Shakib Al Hasan would not be welcome in Sri Lanka and if he came to play any game, he would face the annoyance of the fans. Trevin Mathews, who also played cricket at the club level, said the Sri Lankan fans were very disappointed with Shakib, who did not withdraw ‘time out’ appeal despite requests from Angelo Mathews.

Also Read: ‘Terrible sportsmanship’: Bangladesh skipper Shakib gets slammed for getting Angelo Mathews ‘timed out’

On Monday, a massive controversy erupted after Angelo Mathews was given ‘timed out’ for not being ready to face the fall within two minutes of the previous dismissal. Mathews was given out after Shakib appealed to umpires for ‘time out’ dismissal. Baffled at the decision, the Sri Lankan batter tried to persuade umpires and also requested Shakib to withdraw the appeal. However, the Bangladesh skipper did not budge and Mathews had to leave the ground.      

“Bangladeshi captain has no sportsman spirit and did not show humanity in the gentleman’s game,” Trevin Mathews said while speaking to Bangladesh-based bdcricktime.com. “We never expected this right from his captain to the rest of the team members.”

“Shakib is not welcome in Sri Lanka. If he comes here to play any international or the LPL matches, stones will be thrown at him, or will have to face the annoyance of the fans,” Angelo’s brother further said. He also defended his brother and said Angelo was within his crease in the stipulated time but it was not his fault when the strap of his helmet was broken.

On Tuesday, Angelo shared a video to back his point that he was on the crease within the time limit. As per the rule, the incoming batter needs to be ready to face the ball within two minutes. However, as Angelo was getting ready to take guard his helmet’s strap broke. As he signalled to the dressing room for a new helmet, Shakib appealed for “timed out” dismissal and the umpires upheld the appeal. 

After the match which Bangladesh won, Angelo said that what Shakib did was “absolutely disgraceful”. “We all play to win but I never thought a team or player would stoop to such levels to get a wicket…I did nothing wrong. I reached the crease in time. It was an equipment malfunction and I was not wasting time or trying to gain an advantage. Common sense should have prevailed.”

Former Sri Lanka captain Sanath Jayasuriya also held umpires responsible as Mathews was on the crease within time. “Very disappointed at what happened to Angelo yesterday. Being competitive is good, but forgetting that this is a gentleman’s game is unpardonable. Umpires should have been more responsible as it has now transpired that he was on time.”