Stats: Angelo Mathews becomes the 3rd Sri Lankan to play 200 home games across formats

On September 26, the second Test between Sri Lanka and New Zealand was held at the Galle International Stadium in Galle. Angelo Mathews, the former captain of Sri Lanka, accomplished a unique milestone by playing his 200th international match at home. With this accomplishment, he became the latest member of the elite group of Sri Lankan players to have played more games at home, including Mahela Jayawardene (249 matches) and Kumar Sangakkara (235).

Just 16 players worldwide have participated in more than 200 domestic games for their respective nations. Legends like James Anderson, Ricky Ponting, MS Dhoni, Virat Kohli, Allan Border, Sachin Tendulkar, and others are on the list.

Prior to against New Zealand in the second Test, Angelo Mathews had amassed nearly 7000 runs and claimed 200 wickets in all forms.

Though he had to wait a while to return to the T20I side, the veteran is an essential member of Sri Lanka’s Test and ODI sides. Eventually, he did so earlier this year. He even accused the administration of putting a halt to his career in Twenty20 cricket.

“I bowled and batted effectively in the last two Lanka Premier League seasons, but I was not selected for the T20 World Cups, and I was not given any explanation for why. These kinds of things might occur when judgements are made with ulterior motives; as Mathews had previously stated, “We haven’t even qualified for the Champions Trophy.”

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However, I do think that if you train and play with all of your heart, you may make a space for yourself where you can excel. Over the past few years, I continued to put in my efforts. He went on, “I think I can play for a little bit longer.

Here’s the list of players with 200+ international games at home: