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Mathews ruled out of Australia tour

Sri Lanka skipper to miss T20 series due to a hamstring injury, squad to be announced on Tuesday

Sri Lanka will be without skipper Angelo Mathews for their upcoming KFC T20I series against Australia due to a hamstring injury.

Sri Lanka's selectors will meet tomorrow to finalise their squad for the three-match series later this month, but they have already confirmed Mathews will not be available.

Mathews suffered a hamstring problem in a T20 against South Africa last month and was replaced as skipper by Dinesh Chandimal, who is favourite to be named captain for the Australia tour. Upul Tharanga, who has replaced Mathews as skipper for the ongoing ODI series against the Proteas, is also in the frame to lead the team in Australia.

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"The selection meeting on Tuesday will decide the squad and the captain who will lead in the three matches," a statement said.

Despite losing the Test series in South Africa 3-0 and trailing 3-0 in the current ODI series, the Sri Lankans will head to Australia following a 2-1 win in the T20 series against the Proteas.

Having lost the first match of the series, the tourists held their nerve to win the second and third games with two balls and one ball remaining respectively.

In-form opener Niroshan Dickwella was their star of thier T20 triumph, while left-arm spinner Lakshan Sandakan also impressed in his maiden T20 outings.

Early celebration leaves Sri Lanka red faced

The Sri Lankan squad will arrive in Canberra next Monday (the 13th) before they take on the Prime Minister's XI on February 15.

The T20 series against a new-look Australian side will include matches at the MCG (Feb 17), Kardinia Park in Geelong (Feb 19) and Adelaide (Feb 22).